^    i/\ri    .'V^ 


^HE    CAREER 


OF    THE 


God-Idea  in  History, 


BY  HUDSON  TUTTLE, 

AUTHOR  OF    "arcana   OF   NATURE,"    "ORIGIN  AND  ANTIQUITY 
OF  MAN,"  ETC. 


Dwelling  in  the  light  that  no  man  can  approach  unto.  .  .  .  Canst  thou, 
by  searching,  find  out  God?  .  .  .  Touching  the  Almighty,  we  cannot  find 
him  out.  —  Bible. 

Nothing  of  him  that  doth  fade, 
But  doth  suffer  a  sea-change 
Into  something  rich  and  strange. 

Shakespeare. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED   BY  ADAMS   &   CO. 

No.  25  Bromfield  St. 

HL    ft 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

ADAMS  &  CO., 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


(^mma  Stittlf. 


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PREFACE. 


Mankind,  having  wearily  traversed  the 
marsh-lands  of  metaphysical  and  theological 
speculation,  are  gaining  the  firm  shore  of 
positive  science. 

The  sun  of  a  new  era  is  dawning  on  the 
mental  horizon  of  the  world. 

Before  its  beams  can  fully  penetrate  our 
being,  we  must  discard  the  old,  and  turn, 
self-reliant,  to  the  new. 

I  have  written  this  volume  because  I  think 
it  is  demanded. 

Hudson  Tuttle. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introductiqn        .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       7 

I. 

The  God-Idea  of  the  Hindoos        .       .       .       •      ^3 

11. 

The   God-Idea   of   the    Egyptians,    Chaldeans, 
AND  Persians 27 

III. 
The  God-Idea  of  the  Jews 53 

The  God-Idea  of  the  Arabians      .       ,       ,       .     65 

V. 

The  God-Idea  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  .       .      70 

VI. 

The  God-Idea  of  the  Alexandrian  School  and 
Early  Christianity 109 


6  Contents, 

VII. 

PAGB 

The  God-Idea  of  the  Later  Philosophers        .      131 

VIII. 
The  God-Idea  of  the  Bible     .       ..   •  •       •       '145 

IX. 

The  God-Idea  of  the  Border-Religions,  —  Chi- 
nese, Druids,  Scandinavians,  and  Aztecs  .       •    151 

X. 

.  Conclusion  —  Ultimate  of  the  God-Idea     .       .    181 


INTRODUCTION. 


T 


HE  first  great  religious  idea  is  the  idea  of 
God.  —  Samuel  Longfellow. 


Every  miracle,  if  it  existed,  would  lead  to  the 
conviction  that  the  creation  is  not  deserving  the 
respect  which  all  pay  to  it ;  and  the  mystics  would 
necessarily  be  obliged  to  deduce  from  the  imperfec- 
tions of  the  created  world  the  imperfections  of  the 
Creator.  —  Cotta. 

Miracles  are  great  horrors  in  the  domain  of  sci- 
ence, when  not  blind  faith,  but  conviction  derived 
from  knowledge,  is  of  any  value.  Jouvenal  ob- 
serves, "  There  is  neither  chance  nor  miracle : 
there  exists  but  phenomena  governed  by  laws."  — 
Giebel. 

No  force  can  originate  from  nothing.  —  Liebig. 

An  absolute  nothing  is  not  cogitable.  —  Ozolbe. 

Matter  is  uncreatable,  as  it  is  indestructible. — 
Vogt. 


8  Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

God  is  a  blank  sheet,  upon  which  nothing  is  found 
but  what  you  have  yourself  written.  — Luther. 

Man  depicts  himself  in  his  gods.  —  Schiller. 

Matter  and  its  laws  are  eternal.  —  Arcana. 

"  What  and  where  is  God .'' "  is  a  question  which  has 
been  reiterated  by  the  sage  and  the  savage,  the  wise 
and  the  foolish,  from  immemorial  time.  It  was  one 
of  the  first  great  problems  presented'  for  solution, 
and  is  now  the  first  to  which  childhood  requires  an 
answer.  Who  can  fathom  its  depths }  Which  of 
the  countless  attempted  solutions  is  the  true  }  Are 
any  correct  ? 

This  is  a  vast  subject,  and  leads  at  once  to  forbid- 
den fields.  The  traveler  is  constantly  in  danger  of 
being  decried  as  sacrilegious,  —  as  though  the  gods 
in  their  high  estate  can  be  harmed  by  the  efforts  of 
puny  mortal.  If  they  can,  theirs  is  the  fault,  not  the 
mortal's  whom  they  have  created.  The  discussion 
of  the  God-idea,  to  the  scientist,  is  the  same  as  that 
of  any  principle.  A  rock,  a  tree,  an  insect,  are  as 
sacred  as  God,  being  a  part  of  him,  or  portions  of 
his  work.  It  is  time  the  sickly  sentimentality  of 
holy  places  and  sacred  things  should  yield  to  the 
new  and  sterling  conceptions  of  the  divinity  of  man, 
and  the  Godhood  of  nature. 

My  endeavor  is  to  treat  the  gods  of  the  nations 
and  ages  with  equal  respect  and  equal  scrutiny. 
Therein  lies  the  danger.     It  is  unobjectionable  thus 


Impartiality  of  View,  9 

to  sp-cak  of  all  others  except  our  own.  The  theolo- 
gies of  other  peoples  are  mythologies  and  subjects 
of  ridicule.  Ours  is  the  only  true  theology  ;  and  to 
speak  of  God  in  the  same  breath  with  Jupiter, 
Brahma,  or  Vishnu,  is  profanation.  But  our  true 
theolo^  la  a  ridiculous  myth  to  the  Hindoo,  the 
Persian,  or  Buddhist.  There  are  as  many  theologies 
as  there  are  peoples  ;  and  the  devotees  of  each  are 
equally  devoted,  equally  exclusive,  and  certain  that 
they  have  the  only  sacred  system  in  the  world. 

All  rest  on  the  same  basis,  and  stand  or  fall 
together.  A  greater  devotion  and  earnestness  can- 
not be  claimed  for  one  than  another.  Those  sys- 
tems which  we  regard  as  the  most  false,  paradox- 
ical as  it  may  appear,  awaken  the  greatest  intensity 
of  zeal.  The  worshiper  of  Brahma  will  suffer  death 
with  equal  fortitude  as  the  Christian  martyr.  Death 
has  been  preferred  by  every  heathen  nation  to  be- 
stowing worship  on  a  foreign  god. 

Callisthenes  vehemently  opposed  paying  divine 
honors  to  Alexander,  because  such  adoration  would 
confound  human  and  divine  worship,  which  had  been 
preserved  by  his  nation  inviolable.  The  Greeks, 
when  sent  on  embassies  to  the  kings  of  Persia, 
regarded  it  as  mean  and  base  to  prostrate  themselves 
before  the  throne,  as  such  homage  was  allowable 
only  to  the  gods.*  Isocrates  reproached  the  Per- 
sians for  doing  it  themselves,  because  they  thereby 
prostituted  the  homage  of  the  gods  to  men  ;  and 
not  even  by  violence  could  Xerxes  compel  Sperchius 

*  Plutarch. 


lo       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

and  Bulls  to  pay  him  honors,  because  it  was  against 
the  laws  of  their  country  to  bestow  such  honors.* 
Such  was  the  reverence  for  the  gods  at  Athens,  that 
they  executed  Timagoras  for  paying  honors  to  man. 
The  idea  of  a  supernatural  cause,  a  divine  being^ 
omnipotently  swaying  the  religious  feelings,  and 
thereby  the  destiny  of  the  world,  has  been  considered 
universal.  More  careful  and  unprejudiced  observa- 
tion has  brought  forward  many  examples  to  the  con- 
trary. On  the  universality  of  this  belief  is  based  a 
proof  of  the  existence  of  God.  The  critical  study  of 
the  present  has  destroyed  this  oft-repeated  evidence,  f 
The  tribes  of  the  lake  districts  of  Central  Africa 
"  admit  neither  God,  angels,  nor  devil."  % 

The  Tasmanians  have  no  word  for  a  Creator.  § 
The  South-American  Indians  of  Grau  Chaco  have 
no  religious  or  idolatrous  belief  or  worship  whatever, 
neither  do  they  possess  any  idea  of  God  or  of  a  supe- 
rior being.  They  make  no  distinction  between  right 
and  wrong,  and  have  therefore  neither  fear  nor  hope 
of  any  present  or  future  punishment  or  reward,  nor 
any  mysterious  terror  of  some  supernatural  power 
whom  they  might  seek  to  assuage  by  sacrifices  or 
superstitious  rites."  || 

*  Herodotus. 

•f "  Prehistoric  Times."     Lubbock,  p.  467. 

X  Burton.     Trans.  Ette.  Soc,  N.  S.,  vol.  i.,  p.  323. 

§  Rev.  T.  Dove,  Tasmanian  Journal. 

II "  Voice  of  Pity,"  vol.  ix.,  p.  220. 

Note.  —  I  am  indebted  to  Lubbock  for  guiding  me  to  many  of  the 
quoted  authorities. 


Savage  Views  of  God.  1 1 

The  Caffres  have  no  form  of  religion  or  worship. 
They  think  everything  makes  itself;  and  the  only 
idea  they  seem  to  possess  on  the  subject  is  a  vague 
notion  of  an  evil  spirit.  * 

The  Brazilian  Indians  entertain  a  similar  idea,  f 

The  Lepchas  of  Northern  India  have  no  religion,  % 
nor  have  the  Khasias.  The  religious  ideas  of  the 
Indians  of  Oregon  are  exceedingly  low.  Attempts 
were  made  to  translate  the  word  "  God,"  but  in  no  dia- 
lect in  that  vast  territory  could  missionaries  and 
skillful  interpreters  find  an  equivalent  word.  §  Their 
highest  God  was  a  wolf,  an  ideal  hybrid  of  animal 
and  divinity.  The  Kalashes  Indians  believe  God  to 
be  a  raven. 

Of  the  Tusks,  a  Mongolian  tribe  dwelling  in 
Northwestern  Asia,  it  is  said,  "  Whether  they  have 
any  conception  of  a  divine  providence,  of  a  governor 
of  the  world,  could  not  be  ascertained,  nor  a  trace 
found  whether  they  worship  a  benevolent  spirit,  or 
demons."  ||  The  Indian  population  of  Rio  de  Janeiro 
have  no  desire  for  religion.  The  aborigines  receive 
baptism  without  understanding  its  meaning.  •[[  The 
Australian  has  no  idea  of  a  Creator,  **  nor  have  the. 
Bechuanas,  the  most  intelligent  tribes  of  the  interior 

*  Burchell,  "  Travels  in  South  Africa,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  249. 

t  Spix  and  Martius.     Bates  and  Walace. 

X  Hooker. 

§"  London  Athenasum,"  July,  1849. 

II  Lieut.  Hooper. 

\  Burmeister. 

**  Australian  und  Seine.     Colonien,  1849. 


1 2       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

of  Africa.  Moffat,  the  indefatigable  missionary,  could 
not  awaken  the  least  idea  of  a  divine  being  in  the 
South  African.  *  Of  the  Bechuanas  he  says,  "  They 
have  no  word  in  their  language  properly  denoting 
God.  They  have  no  idea  of  an  infinite  being.  I  have 
often  wished  to  find  something  by  which  I  could  lay 
hold  on  the  minds  of  the  natives,  —  an  altar  of  the 
unknown  God,  the  faith  of  their  ancestors,  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  or  any  religious  associations ; 
but  nothing  of  this  kind  ever  floated  in  their  minds. 
They  looked  on  the  sun  with  the  eye  of  an  ox.  To 
tell  the  greatest  of  them  that  there  was  a  creator, 
the  governor  of  the  heavens  and  earth,  of  the  fall  of 
man  and  the  redemption  of  the  world,  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  and  immortality  beyond  the  grave, 
was  to  tell  them  what  appeared  more  extravagant, 
fabulous,  and  ludicrous,  than  their  own  vain  stories 
about  lions,  jackals,  and  hyenas.  To  tell  them  that 
these  (referring  of  course  to  the  different  elements 
of  our  creed)  were  articles  of  our  faith,  would  extort 
an  interjection  of  superlative  surprise,  as  if  it  were 
too  preposterous  for  the  most  foolish  to  believe." 
And  Opperman  says  of  the  Kaffirs,  "  They  have  not 
the  least  notion  of  a  supreme  being,  their  chief  being 
their  God."  f 

The  Hottentots  believe  in  a  good  spirit,  and  at  the 
full  moon  worship  with  dancing.  The  Kariens  of 
India  do  not  believe  in  God,  but  only  in  the  influence 
of  two  evil  genii ;  :|:  nor  do  some  of  the  Sumatrian 

*  Moffat,  "  South  Africa." 

t  Quo.  in  Staft  und  Stoft.    BUchner. 

tibid. 


Savage  Views  of  God.  1 3 

tribes.  The  God  of  the  Negroes  of  Oucareyanua  is 
their  chief,  to  whom  they  sacrifice  animals  and  hu- 
man beings.  The  God  of  the  Fiji  is  a  being  with- 
out any  feeUng  except  hunger.  He  dwells  with  his 
companion  in  a  cave,  eats,  drinks,  and  answers  the 
questions  of  the  priests. 

The  reports  of  travelers  are  generally  prejudiced 
on  the  religious  side,  and  they  take  for  granted  ideas 
of  God  exist.  Their  not  finding  such  ideas  strength- 
ens their  testimony. 

Those  savage  tribes  said  to  have  a  God  are  far  from 
possessing  the  Christian's  idea.  There  is  nothing 
infinite,  eternal,  connected  with  it.  When  a  savage 
worships  a  snake,  a  stone,  or  bunch  of  rags,  for  a  God, 
can  it  be  supposed  that  he  has  any  clear  ideas  of  the 
God  of  the  universe  .•• 

The  Damaras  are  said  by  travelers  to  have  a  God 
whom  they  call  Omakura ;  but  the  ideas  they  enter- 
tain of  him  are  such  as  children  might  form,  and 
have  no  similarity  to  the  Infinite  whom  we  recognize. 
His  attributes  vary  with  each  tribe  ;  each  having  its 
own  Omakura,  to  whom  it  ascribes  all  its  supersti- 
tions, habits,  and  peculiarities.  The  worship  of  Om- 
akura consists  of  many  puerile  observances  and  sac- 
rifices. Animals,  when  sacrificed,  are  speared  to 
death,  while  those  used  for  food  are  suffocated.  They 
keep  a  sacred  fire  burning  before  the  chiefs  tent, 
and  every  possible  care  is  taken  to  prevent  its  being 
extinguished.  Should  this  calamity  occur,  the  whole 
tribe  are  assembled,  and,  after  large  expiatory  sacri- 
fices, the  fire  is  again  lighted  by  friction. 


14      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

When  a  new  tribe  is  thrown  off,  they  carry  with 
them  a  portion  of  fire  from  the  old  altar.  The  duties 
of  a  vestal  devolve  on  the  daughter  of  the  emigrant.* 

There  are  disbelievers  in  the  existence  of  a  God 
in  the  midst  of  the  highest  European  civilization  ; 
and  the  recent  census  shows  that  six  million  people 
in  England  alone  never  enter  a  church,  and  know 
not  to  what  religious  sect  they  belong.  These  men 
are  sincere,  and  many  of  them  are  among  the  great 
thinkers  of  the  age.  They  deny,  in  opposition  to 
the  intense  force  of  education  and  public  opinion. 
Even  those  who  believe  find  it  impossible  to  state 
and  prove  their  belief  in  clear  and  unmistakable  lan- 
guage. 

The  first  great  religious  idea  is  that  of  God.  From 
it  arise  all  the  grand  systems  of  worship  in  the  world, 
and  around  it  cluster  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of 
mankind.  There  are  races  who  have  not  any  defi- 
nite conception  of  God.  There  are  others  who  have 
advanced  to  Fetichism ;  and  thence  onward  all  grades 
of  progress  are  discoverable  to  the  most  orthodox 
creed  of  the  present. 

There  is  a  religious  element  in  man's  nature,  the 
product  of  his  unanswerable  aspirations,  subject  to 
the  same  growth  and  progress  as  his  other  faculties. 
The  savage  looks  out  on  nature  as  an  animate  being. 
To  him  it  has  life  and  intelligence.  He  at  once  per- 
sonifies that  intelligence.  The  air,  the  water,  the 
earth,  become  something  more  than  simply  air,  water, 

♦Lake  Ngami,  pp.  219,  20. 


Personification  of  Forces  of  Nature.      15 

earth  :  they  are  possessed  of  a  spirit.  Man  sponta- 
neously assigns  reasons  for  the  effects  he  observes  ; 
and  this  reference  to  spiritual  moving  agencies  satis- 
fies the  savage  as  perfectly  as  the  doctrine  of  a  final 
cause  did  the  superficial  philosophers  of  twenty-five 
years  ago. 

The  multitude  of  spiritual  beings  were  subordi- 
nated to  the  control  of  superior  intelligences  in  the 
desire  to  unitize  the  powers  or  forces  of  creation. 

Submissiveness,  humility,  grow  out  of  contact 
with  nature.  The  matter-of-fact  scientist  does  not 
escape  this  feeling  when  witnessing  the  grand  phe- 
nomena of  storm  or  ocean.  The  savage  is  a  child ; 
and,  like  a  child,  he  falls  prostrate  in  fear.  He 
debases  himself  before  the  invisible  spirits  who 
shout  in  the  wild  winds,  or  growl  in  the  thunders. 
He  believes  everything  to  be  governed  by  the  arbi- 
trary will  of  these  beings  ;  and,  if  they  are  interested 
in  mortal  welfare,  they  will  heed  his  prayers.  That 
they  are,  he  does  not  doubt.  His  first  conception  of 
the  object  of  creation  is  that  it  was  designed  for  the 
especial  benefit  of  man.  Everything  that  conflicts 
with  his  pleasure  or  purposes  is  evil.  Entirely,  ex- 
clusively designed  for  man.  In  the  sequel  it  will  be 
seen  how  diametrically  erroneous  this  idea  proves  to 
be. 

Out  of  it  grows  the  priesthood,  —  men  who  by 
superior  holiness  can  intercede  with  better  grace, 
and  more  hope  for  success,  than  ordinary  mortals, 
soiled  and  begrimed  with  contact  with  the  world. 

All  races  have  acknowledged  this  necessity ;  and 


1 6       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

we  see  the  germ  of  the  priestly  order  in  the  medicine- 
man of  the  rude  American  Indian,  and  the  rain- 
maker of  the  still  ruder  Central  African.  It  is  a 
wonderful  history  which  traces  from  that  beginning 
the  progress  of  the  order  to  the  colossal  proportions 
it  assumed  in  India,  in  Egypt,  or,  at  one  time,  in 
Catholic  Europe.  The  priest  is  blameless.  He  did 
not  create  the  organization  of  the  human  mind. 

The  worship  of  idols  grows  out  of  nearly  the  same 
faculties  as  create  the  desire  for  priestly  orders. 
The  savage  mind  cannot  imagine  existence  without 
personality.  His'  deities  must  be  men  and  women. 
These  deities  being  his  friends,  he  desires,  as  a  token, 
a  representation  of  them.  Between  the  image  and 
the  person  represented,  they  always  imagine  a  secret 
bond.  Many  believe,  that,  by  making  a  representa- 
tion of  their  enemy,  they  can  inflict  any  violence  they 
please  by  simply  attacking  the  image.  To  this  day 
the  custom  lingers,  though  thoughtlessly  regarded, 
in  the  popular  method  of  expressing  disapprobation 
by  burning  or  hanging  in  effigy. 

The  childish  mind  cannot  worship  a  blank  ab- 
straction :  it  makes  an  image  of  the  being,  worships 
that,  feeling  assured,  that,  by  this  secret  connection, 
whatever  devotion  is  expressed  for  it  will  be  felt  by 
the  being  represented. 

Voltaire  truly  remarks,*  that  no  nation  ever  took 
the  name  of  idolaters.  It  was  always  bestowed  as 
a  term  of  reproach.  When  the  Roman  and  Cartha- 
ginian captains  made  a  treaty,  they  called  the  gods 

*  Phit.  Die,  vol.  ii.,  p.  27. 


Origin  of  Idolatry,  1 7 

to  witness.  "  It  is  in  their  presence,"  said  they,  "  that 
we  declare  peace  ; "  yet  no  image  of  these  gods  was 
present.  They  never  supposed  for  a  moment  that 
the  image  constituted  the  divinity. 

Dio  Chrysostom  makes  Phidias  answer,  when 
called  to  account  for  making  a  statue  of  Jupiter 
Olympus,  "  Mankind  do  not  love  to  worship  God  at 
a  distance,  but  to  come  near  and  feel  him,  and  with 
assurance  to  sacrifice  to  and  become  like  him  :  chil- 
dren newly  weaned  from  their  parent,  who  put  out 
their  hands  towards  them  in  their  dreams  as  if  they 
were  still  there,  so  do  men,  out  of  the  sense  of  God's 
goodness,  and  their  relation  to  him,  love  to  have  him 
represented  as  present  with  them,  and  so  to  converse 
with  him.  Thence  have  come  all  the  representations 
of  God  among  the  barbarous  nations,  in  mountains, 
trees,  and  stones." 

M.  Tyrius  observes  in  regard  to  statues  and  their 
worship :  *  — 

"  A  divine  nature  has  no  need  of  statues  or  altars ; 
but  human  nature,  being  very  imbecile,  and  far  dis- 
tant from  divinity,  devised  these  symbols,  in  which 
it  inserted  the  names  and  the  renown  of  the  gods. 
Those,  therefore,  whose  memory  is  robust,  and  who 
are  able,  by  directly  extending  their  soul  to  heaven, 
to  meet  with  Divinity,  have  perhaps  no  need  of 
statues.  This  race  is,  however,  rare  among  men ;  but 
few  of  whom  are  not  in  want  of  this  kind  of  assist- 
ance. 

*  Quoted  in  "The  Zendavesta  and  Solar  Religions," by  M. 
E.  Lazarus,  M.  D. 


1 8      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

"  For  Divinity  indeed,  the  father  and  fabricator  of 
all  things,  is  more  ancient  than  the  sun  and  the 
heavens,  more  excellent  than  time  and  eternity ;  is  a 
legislator  without  law,  ineffable  by  voice,  or  invisible 
by  the  eyes.  Not  being  able  to  comprehend  his 
essence,  we  apply  for  assistance  to  words  and  names, 
to  animals  and  figures  of  gold  and  ivory  and  silver,  to 
plants  and  rivers,  to  the  summits  of  mountains  and 
to  streams  of  water ;  desiring  indeed  to  understand 
his  nature,  but,  through  imbecility,  calling  him  by 
the  names  of  such  things  as  appear  to  us  to  be  beau- 
tiful. And,  in  thus  acting,  we  are  affected  in  the 
same  manner  as  lovers  who  are  delighted  with  sur- 
veying the  images  of  the  objects  of  their  love,  and 
with  recollecting  the  lyre,  the  dart,  and  the  seal  of 
these  ;  the  circus  in  which  they  all  ran  ;  and  every- 
thing, in  short,  which  excites  the  memory  of  the 
beloved  object. 

"  What  then  remains  for  me  to  investigate  and 
determine  respecting  statues  ?  Only  to  admit  the 
subsistence  of  Deity.  If  the  art  of  Phidias  excites 
the  Greeks  to  the  recollection  of  Divinity  ;  honor  to 
animals,  the  Egyptians ;  a  river,  others ;  and  fire, 
others,  —  I  do  not  condemn  the  dissonance  :  let  them 
only  know,  let  them  only  love,  let  them  only  be 
mindful  of  the  object  they  adore." 

Maximus  of  Tyre,  who  flourished  under  the  An- 
tonines,  thus  wrote  of  God  :  — 

"  When  men  are  questioned  concerning  the  nature 
of  the  Divinity,  their  answers  are  all  different :  yet, 
notwithstanding  all  this  prodigious  variety  of  opin- 


Origin  of  Idolatry.  19 

ions,  you  will  find  one  and  the  same  feeling  through- 
out the  earth ;  viz.,  that  there  is  but  one  God,  the 
Father  of  all." 

The  Emperor  Julien  made  this  remark  on  reli- 
giously venerating  statues  :  "  Statues  and  altars,  and 
the  preservation  of  the  unextinguished  fire,  and,  in 
short,  all  such  particulars,  have  been  established  by 
our  fathers  as  symbols  of  the  worship  of  the  gods  ; 
not  that  we  should  believe  that  these  symbols  are 
gods,  but  that  through  these  we  should  WQrslupL_the 
gods." 

Said  a  Brahman  to  M.  Bernier  :  — 

"  We  do  not  believe  these  statues  to  be  Brahma  or 
.^rahm,  but  only  their  images  and  representations  f 
and  we  only  give  them  that  honor  on  account  of  the 
beings  they  represent.  They  are  in  our  temples 
because  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  pray  well,  to  have 
something  before  our  eyes  that  may  fix  the  mind ; 
and,  when  we  pray,  it  is  not  the  statue  we  pray  to,  but 
the  thing  represented  by  it."  Sallust  makes  the  admi- 
rable remark  that  "  the  honors  which  we  pay  to  the 
gods  are  performed  for  the  sake  of  our  own  advan- 
tage :  and,  since  the  providence  of  the  gods  is  every- 
where extended,  a  certain  habitude  and  fitness  is  all 
that  is  requisite  in  order  to  receive  these  benefi- 
cent communications  ;  but  all  habitude  is  produced 
through  imitation  and  similitude.  Hence  temples 
imitate  the  heavens,  and  altars  the  earth ;  statues 
resemble  life  ;  prayers  imitate  that  which  is  intellec- 
tual ;  but  characters,  superior  ineffable  powers  ;  herbs 
and  stones  resemble  matter  ;  and  animals  which  are 


20       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

sacrificed,  the  inactional  life  of  our  souls  :  but,  from 
all  these  things,  nothing  happens  to  the  gods  beyond 
what  they  already  possess  ;  for  what  occasion  can 
be  made  to  a  divine  nature  ?  but  a  conjunction  be- 
tween our  soul  and  God  is  produced." 

The  Catholic  worship  of  saints  shows  this  inherent 
tendency  of  the  human  soul  to  recognize  gradations 
of  spiritual  beings,  and  local  tutelar  deities  ;  and,  in 
grossness  of  conception,  it  exceeds  the  monstrosities 
of  any  heathen  religion. 

The  progress  of  the  God-idea,  commencing,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  utter  ignorance  and  inconception,  passes 
through  certain  stages  of  growth.  If  the  histories  of 
various  peoples  are  examined,  it  will  be  found  that  this 
idea,  beginning  at  the  same  point,  runs  an  almost 
parallel  course.  The  illustrations  of  this  truth  are 
fully  detailed  hereafter.  The  savage  is  a  believer  in 
Fetichism.  He  beholds  in  nature  the  manifestation 
of  innumerable  spiritual  beings,  unseen,  irresponsi- 
ble, and  powerful,  which  he  regards  with  feelings  of 
unmitigated  fear.  Knowing  nothing  of  law,  he  places 
the  gods  in  its  place,  and  thus  renders  events  mere 
arbitrary  acts,  dependent  on  their  changing  wills. 

This  is  not_J'antheism,  which  makes  nature  the 
external  garb  of  an  omnipotenFl)eTng.  It  differs  as 
much  from  that  "as  present  scTence  differs  from  the 
charlatanism  of  the  alchemists.  It  is  not  Polythe- 
ism, which  is  more  unitary  in  its  grasp.  From  it 
Polytheism  arises  by  growth,  by  the  subordination  of 
the  inferior  spirits  to  superior  beings,  grading  them 
into   successive  orders,  reaching  from  the  highest 


d 


Rise  of  Pantheism.  21 

gods  down  to  man.  Out  of  Polytheism  sprang  Dual- 
ism, a  belief  in  a  good  and  an  evil  deity.  From 
Dualism  springs  monotheism,  in  regular  sequence,  — 
a  sublime  generalization,  unitizing  creation,  material 
and  spiritual,  under  the  control  of  one  omnipotent, 
self-existent  being. 

Last,  in  this  extended  series  of  advances,  arises 
what  may  be  called  scientific  Pantheism,  which  re- 
gards nature  as  one  divine  whole,  controlled  by  fixed 
and  absolute  laws  inherent  in  the  constitution  of 
matter,  and  which  are  the  only  expressions  of  divine 
will  man  can  ever  recognize ;  a  Pantheism  which 
bestows  itself  on  the  external  manifestations  of  law, 
well  knowing  that  in  that  manner  only  can  it  learn 
anything  of  the  divine  nature,  and  confessing  its 
incapacity,  as  finite,  of  ever  understanding  the  infi- 
nite. The  extension  of  this  phase  of  thought  is  re- 
served for  the  closing  chapter. 

To  fill  up  from  the  history  of  the  world,  the  outline 
thus  hastily  sketched,  is  the  purpose  of  the  succeed- 
ing chapters.  The  antique  religion  of  Hindostan,  as 
the  mother  of  a  line  of  offspring  still  vigorous,  claims 
our  first  attention.  Egypt,  her  direct  descendant, 
and  Greece  and  Rome,  follow  each  other.  Outside 
of  this  direct  line  are  many  barbarous  races,  inter- 
esting, though  not  directly  connected  with  the  grand 
tide  of  progress  which  rolls  in  one  continuous  stream 
from  ancient  Hindostan  to  the  present  time.  I  do 
not  propose  to  treat  of  religious  forms,  creeds,  and 
ceremonies,  except  as  they  illustrate  the  ideas  re- 
ceived of  God.     To  separate  the  forms   of  worship 


22       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

from  their  object  has  been  a  task  most  difficult  in 
execution.  Perhaps  I  have  admitted  such  illustra- 
tions, in  places,  to  an  extent  which  mars  the  symmetry 
of  the  work,  but  no  further  than  seemed  necessary 
for  a  complete  understanding  of  the  worshiper  as 
well  as  worshiped. 


I. 

THE   GOD-IDEA    OF    THE   HINDOOS. 

For  God  goes  forth,  and  spreads  throughout  the  whole, 

Heaven,  earth,  and  sea,  the  universal  soul ; 

Each  at  its  birth  from  him  all  beings  share. 

Both  man  and  brutes,  the  breath  of  vital  air ; 

To  him  return,  and,  loosed  from  earthly  chain. 

Fly  whence  they  sprang,  and  rest  in  God  again ; 

Spurn  at  the  grave,  and,  fearless  of  decay. 

Dwell  in  high  heaven,  and  star  the  ethereal  way.  —  Virgil. 

To  frame  an  adequate  conception  of  Deity,  and  set  this  forth  in  words,  is 
not  only  above  human  capability,  but  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things. 
The  abyss  of  God  is  not  to  be  fathomed  save  by  him  who  is  All-in-all.  — 

Theodore  Parker. 

IF  the  high  antiquity  claimed  by  the  Hindoos 
is  considered  as  fabulous,  still  they  must  be 
regarded  as  among  the  oldest  of  peoples.  The 
sacred  Sanskrit  alone  would  prove  them  to  be 
among  the  first  of  civilized  races.  Not,  however, 
to  discuss  this  point,  we  will  consult  their  sacred 
books,  which  they  believe  to  be  as  old  as  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world.*  The  Vedas  they  hold  in  great- 
est reverence.     The  book  is  not  allowed  to  come  in 

*  William  Jones  thinks  the  Vedas  were  not  written  before 
the  flood  ;  but  that  they  are  the  oldest  specimen  of  Sanskrit, 
and  date  about  a  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Moses. 
The  learned  Heeren  says  their  date  is  entirely  obscure. — His- 
torical Researches. 


24       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

contact  with  any  animal  substance,  nor  to  be  read 
in  the  presence  of  a  wicked  man.  Brahmans  alone 
are  allowed  to  read  and  interpret  them.  If  a  soudra 
impiously  should  open  their  divine  pages,  or  even 
hear  a  passage  read,  the  code  of  Menu  ordains  that 
heated  wax,  oil,  and  tin  shall  be  poured  into  his 
ears.  Inherent  sacredness  and  supernatural  pow- 
ers are  ascribed  to  every  word,  and  it  is  sacrilege  to 
make  the  least  alteration.  Such  is  their  regard  for 
a  book  bearing  the  seal  of  the  inspiration  from  high 
Heaven.  Of  God,  it  teaches  one  Supreme  Being, 
who  is  one  with  nature,  —  or  thorough  Pantheism. 
He  is  manifested  in  the  grand  phenomena  of  the 
external  world,  the  phenomena  of  which  are  invoked 
as  separate  deities.  Sun,  moon,  fire,  air,  water,  and 
other  elements  and  forces  of  nature,  each  have  sepa- 
rate deities  subordinate  to  the  "  One  Immutable,"  and 
who  are  manifestations  of  his  being.  The  devout 
worshiper  comes  in  unison  with  him  by  contempla- 
tion, and  subjugation  of  the  bodily  senses.  In  the 
words  of  the  Vedas,  — 

"  Any  place  where  the  mind  of  man  can  be  undis- 
turbed is  suitable  for  the  worship  of  the  Siipreme 
Being." 

"  The  vulgar  look  for  gods  in  water  ;  the  ignorant 
think  they  reside  in  wood,  brick,  and  stones  ;  men 
of  more  extended  knowledge  seek  them  in  celestial 
orbs  ;  but  wise  men  worship  the  universal  soul. 

"  There  is  one  living  and  true  God :  everlasting, 
without  parts  or  passions  ;  of  infinite  power,  wis- 
dom, and  goodness  ;  the  maker  and  preserver  of  all 
things." 


d 


God-Idea  of  the  Hindoos.  25 

"  What  and  how  the  Supreme  Being  is,  cannot  be 
ascertained.  We  can  only  describe  him  by  his  ef- 
fects and  works  ;  in  like  manner  as  we,  not  know- 
ing the  real  nature  of  the  sun,  explain  him  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  succession  of  days  and  epochs." 

"  That  Spirit,  who  is  distinct  from  Matter,  and  not 
contained  in  Matter,  is  not  various.  He  is  ONE, 
and  he  is  beyond  description  ;  whose  glory  is  so 
great  there  can  be  no  image  of  hinf. 

"  He  is  the  incomprehensible  Spirit  who  illumin- 
ates all,  and  delights  all ;  from  whom  all  proceed,  by 
whom  they  live  after  they  are  born,  and  to  whom  all 
must  return.  Nothing  but  the  Supreme  Being  should 
be  adored  by  a  wise  man." 

"  He  overspreads  all  creatures.  He  is  merely 
spirit  without  the  form  either  of  a  minute  body  or 
an  extended  one,  which  is  liable  to  impression  or 
organization.  He  is  ruler  of  the  intellect,  self-exist- 
ent, pure,  perfect,  omniscient,  omnipresent.  He  has 
from  all  eternity  been  assigning  to  all  creatures  their 
respective  purposes.  No  vision  can  approach  him, 
no  language  describe  him  ;  no  intellectual  power  can 
comprehend  him." 

"As  the  web  proceeds  from  the  spider,  and  is 
absorbed  again  by  her ;  or  vegetables  proceed  from  the 
earth  ;  as  hair  and  nails  grow  from  animate  beings,  — 
so  is  the  universe  evolved  from  the  one  eternal  and 
supreme  Soul." 

"  Without  hand  or  foot,  he  runs  swiftly,  and  grasps 
firmly  ;  without  eyes,  he  sees  all.  He  knows  what- 
ever can  be  known,  but  there  is  none  that   know 


26       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

him.  The  wise  call  him  the  great,  supreme,  pervad- 
ing Spirit." 

Under  whatever  form  it  may  be  presented,  the 
mind  wearies  of  the  contemplation  of  the  Infinite. 
It  is  like  gazing  oif  on  a  boundless  sea,  where  noth- 
ing but  interminable  and  shoreless  waves  fasten  the 
attention.  The  overwrought  faculties  are  palsied  by 
the  strain.  Only  in  the  contemplations  of  philoso- 
phers was  the  E%ernal  One  Brahm  sought  or  ques- 
tioned. He  represents  the  ultimate  of  Hindoo  spec- 
ulation. 

Brahma,  who  is  one  degree  lower,  has  many  points 
of  attachment  for  the  mind.  He  was  a  direct  off- 
spring of  the  Eternal,  who,  after  creating  the  waters 
by  a  thought,  placed  an  ^gg  in  them,  which,  after 
remaining  millions  of  years  inactive,  until  by  the 
energy  of  his  own  thoughts,  Brahma  burst  its  envel- 
ope, and  sprang  forth,  a  divine  mate,  famed  in  all 
worlds  as  the  forefather  of  spirits.  Sharing  the 
essence  of  the  divine  mind,  he  is  far  removed  above 
mortals,  and  not  until  a  lower  circle  of  divinities  is 
reached  do  we  find  qualities  which  awake  the  tender 
sympathies  of  the  heart.  Brahm  and  Brahma  are 
cold  abstractions  of  the  intellect :  Vishnu  and  Siva 
are  personations  of  human  passions,  and  are  hence 
beloved  and  feared.  Brahma,  although  the  priestly 
caste  receive  from  him  their  name,  has  no  temples 
erected  to  his  honor,  no  festivals,  no  especial  sect. 

Vishnu  and  Siva,  the  gods  of  good  and  evil,  form, 
with  Brahma,  the  Hindoo  trinity.  Both  are  repre- 
sented as  having  been  incarnated  many  times.     The 


God-Idea  of  the  Hindoos,  27 

former  is  the  favorite  deity  ;  the  latter  has  many  wor- 
shipers. He  is  the  destroyer,  the  source  of  evil  and 
misery,  and  is  throned  among  the  inaccessible  crags 
of  the  terrible  Himalaya.  The  idea  his  name  calls  forth 
is  emblematized  by  giving  his  statue  five  faces,  or  one 
with  three  eyes  ;  with  serpents  suspended  in  his  ears 
like  jewels.  His  companion,  Doorga,  is  the  chief 
among  the  female  deities  in  the  Hindoo  Pantheon. 
She  is  the  Minerva  of  Greece,  but  more  warlike  and 
powerful.  Her  altars,  unlike  those  of  other  gods, 
stream  with  blood  ;  and  human  sacrifice  in  ancient 
times  was  resorted  to. 

By  the  interposition  of  this  trinity,  the  perplex- 
ing problem,  how  evil  came  into  the  world,  was  per- 
fectly solved.  If  the  supreme  Brahm  is  infinitely 
good  and  powerful,  how  can  evil  exist }  Siva  is  the 
god  of  evil ;  and  Vishnu  is  not  only  mediator  between 
the  Supreme  and  man,  but  between  the  two  and 
the  Evil  One.  As  in  all  other  religious  systems,  man 
forms  the  centre  around  which  gods  and  the  creation 
of  gods  revolve  ;  but  his  destiny,  as  taught  in  the 
Vedas,  is  not  consoling  to  our  manner  of  thought. 
As  God  is  everything,  the  human  spirit  must  be  a 
part  of  his  essence  ;  and  the  most  desirable  termina- 
tion of  this  state  of  fever  pains  and  anxieties  is  final 
absorption  into  him.  This  will  be  the  result,  if  the 
body  is  perfectly  subdued.  The  flesh  is  base  and 
evil ;  and,  the  more  it  is  made  to  sufier,  the  more  the 
spirit  approaches  the  one  pure  Source.  This  idea  of 
the  sinfulness  of  the  body  was  taken  up  by  Chris- 
tianity, and  carried  to  its  extreme  length  in  monastic 


28       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

seclusion,  hermitage,  flagellation,  and  self-inflicted 
tortures  too  horrid  to  mention.  It  is  still  seen  in 
penance,  fasting,  and  prayer,  and  the  general  tone  of 
the  most  liberal  religions,  which  teach  that  happiness 
is  gained,  not  through  pleasure,  but  pain,  by  bearing 
a  heavy  and  grievous  cross. 

Buddha  was  an  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  and  thus 
the  Buddhists  are  attached  to  the  original  religion. 
They  are  the  most  important  sect  that  has  appeared 
in  India.  They  worship  spiritual  intelligences,  de- 
scended on  earth  in  the  form  of  saints,  the  greatest 
of  whom  is  Buddha  Sakia  Mouni,  from  whom  they  de- 
rive their  name.  He  is  thought  by  scholars  to  have 
been  a  great  reformer,  who,  seeing  the  tyranny  and 
evil  of  the  law  of  castes  as  taught  by  the  Vedas,  strove 
to  abolish  those  various  distinctions.  The  date  of 
his  birth  is  fixed  diflerently  by  various  nations.  In 
Cashmere,  they  say  his  appearance  dates  two  hun- 
dred years  later  than  Chrisnu,  whose  advent  is  placed 
back  five  thousand  years.  The  Moguls  say  he  was 
born  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  years 
before  the  Christian  era,  and  the  Chinese  fix  it  at  one 
thousand  and  twenty-nine  years. 

The  gigantic  temples  of  great  antiquity  show  that 
this  belief  in  remote  times  possessed  a  strong  hold 
on  the  people  of  India.  The  statues  of  Buddha, 
found  in  such  edifices,  represent  him  in  an  attitude  of 
profound  meditation,  with  knotted  hair  after  the 
manner  of  hermits.  He  was  born  of  a  virgin  named 
Maia :  miracles  announced  his  birth,  and  his  life  is 
involved  in  a  maze  of  fable.     The  flights  of  imagina- 


God-Idea  of  the  Hindoos,  29 

tion  are  indulged  to  picture  the  wonderful  advent. 
The  joyful  tidings  were  announced  in  the  animal 
world  ;  and  the  birds  of  the  Himalaya  winged  their 
way  to  the  Palace  of  Kapila,  and  there  rested,  singing 
on  the  terraces,  arches,  and  galleries.  The  sands 
were  covered  with  the  lotus  ;  the  delicious  stores 
in  the  houses,  however  much  used,  remained  undi- 
minished ;  musical  instruments  gave  forth  music  by 
unseen  fingers  ;  and  gods  and  hermits  hastened  from 
all  parts  of  the  horison  to  await  on  Buddha.  He 
descends,  accompanied  by  hundreds  of  millions  of 
divinities.  The  three  thousand  regions  of  the  world 
are  illuminated  with  an  immense  splendor,  eclipsing 
that  of  the  gods  ;  fear  and  suffering  are  banished ; 
every  being  is  content,  and  has  none  but  affection- 
ate thoughts.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  gods  bear  up 
the  car  of  Buddha.  At  the  moment  of  his  mortal 
birth,  all  the  flowers  open  their  cups  ;  young  trees 
spring  from  the  soil ;  scented  waters  flow  in  all  direc- 
tions ;  young  lions  run  to  the  palace  from  the  moun- 
tain, unharmed  and  harmless  ;  five  hundred  young 
elephants,  white  as  snow,  come,  and  with  their  trunks 
touch  the  feet  of  the  king,  the  father  of  Buddha ;  the 
sons  of  the  gods,  adorned  with  girdles,  appear  in  the 
apartment  of  the  women,  coming  and  going  from 
either  side ;  the  wives  of  the  nagas,  exposing  half 
of  their  bodies,  show  themselves  waving  in  the  air  ; 
ten  thousand  daughters  of  the  gods,  with  fans  of  the 
peacock's  tail  in  their  hands,  are  seen  against  the 
blue  of  the  sky  ;  ten  thousand  full  urns  appear,  mak- 
ing the  circuit  of  the  great  city  of  Kapila ;  a  hundred 


30       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

thousand  daughters  of  the  gods,  with  shells,  drums, 
and  tambourines  about  their  necks,  stand  motionless  ; 
all  the  winds  hold  their  breath ;  all  the  rivers  and 
brooks  stop  their  flow ;  sun,  moon,  and  stars  cease  to 
move  ;  a  light  of  a  hundred  thousand  colors,  causing 
happiness  in  body  and  soul,  is  diffused  abroad  ;  fire 
does  not  burn  ;  from  the  galleries,  palace,  terraces, 
gateways,  arches,  are  suspended  pearls  and  precious 
stones  ;  the  crows,  vultures,  wolves,  jackals,  cease 
their  cries  ;  none  but  sweet  and  soothing  sounds  are 
heard  ;  all  the  gods  of  the  woods  of  Salas,  thrusting 
their  bodies  half-way  out  from  the  foliage,  show  them- 
selves bending  motionless  ;  parasols,  great  and  small, 
are  displayed  in  the  air  on  every  side.  The  queen, 
meantime,  walks  in  the  garden  of  Loumbini ;  a  tree 
bends,  and  salutes  her  ;  the  queen  seizes  a  branch, 
and,  looking  graciously  towards  heaven,  Buddha  is- 
sues from  her  right  side  without  wounding  her  ;  a 
white  lotus  pierces  the  sod,  to  receive  him ;  a  par- 
asol descends  from  heaven  to  cover  him  ;  a  river  of 
cold  and  a  river  of  hot  water  flow  to  him  for  a 
bath.* 

Such  is  the  language  of  the  sacred  records  of  this 
incarnation  of  divinity.  To  us  it  may  appear  puerile  ; 
but  in  humility  let  it  be  remembered  a  vast  empire 
for  immemorial  time  have  bowed  in  implicit  faith  to 
his  shrine,  and,  holding  his  earth-life  as  an  ideal, 
make  their  best  endeavors  to  actualize  his  devoted 
disinterestedness  in  themselves. 

*  Lalitavistara,  translate^  by  M.  Edward  Foucaux,  quoted 
by  Renan,  "  Rel.  Hist.  Criticism." 


God-Idea  of  the  Hindoos.  3 1 

The  fancies  of  uncultured  youth  have  reveled  in 
the  field  ;  but  there  is  bread-corn  there,  else  it  never 
would  have  satisfied,  for  so  many  generations,  count- 
less swarms  of  people.  It  may  not  afford  spiritual 
nourishment  for  us  ;  but,  for  its  recipients,  nothing 
can  be  better. 

How  this  incarnation  was  effected,  and  for  what 
reason,  is  thus  recorded  :  — 

"  It  was  at  the  close  of  the  Dwapar  Yug,  that  he 
who  is  omnipotent,  and  everlastingly  to  be  contem- 
plated, the  Supreme  Being,  the  Eternal  One,  the 
Divinity  worthy  to  be  adored,  appeared  in  this  ocean 
of  natural  beings  with  a  portion  of  his  divine  nature." 

Filled  with  compassion  for  the  sufferings  of  man- 
kind, he  took  on  himself  the  mortal  garb,  and  sought 
to  lead  them  into  better  paths.  He  took  on  himself 
infinite  sufferings,  that  theirs  might  thereby  be  mit- 
igated. As  whatever  suffering  one  endures  may  be 
placed  to  the  account  of  those  he  wishes,  Buddha 
took  terrible  punishments  on  himself.  So  great 
was  his  sympathy,  that  he  descended  even  into  hell 
to  teach  the  sufferers  there. 

The  Brahmans  accuse  him  of  atheism  ;  but  he 
really  taught  their  own  doctrines  of  creation.  Out 
of  the  original  source  of  being,  called  by  Buddhists 
the  void,  Brahma  and  the  inferior  creation  were 
evolved  ;  and,  after  an  immense  interval  of  revolving 
ages,  all  things  in  the  universe,  even  Brahma  him- 
self, will  be  absorbed  into  the  infinite  void.  At  the 
age  of  seventy-nine  years,  Buddha  Sakia's  whole 
nature  attained  such  complete  absorption  in  the  Di- 


32       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

vine  Being,  that  he  ascended   to  celestial   regions 
without  the  usual  process  of  dying. 

"  The  Buddhists  believe  in  one  absolute  existence, 
including  both  God  and  nature.  When  they  speak 
of  Providence,  they  mean  an  intelligence  inherent  in 
nature  by  which  her  movements  are  regulated.  To 
avoid  attaching  any  idea  of  form  or  limit  to  the  ori- 
ginal Source  of  Being,  the  Buddhist  calls  him  by  a 
name  signifying  the  void  or  space.  They  are,  how- 
ever, divided  on  this  subtile  question  into  several 
schools.  Some  call  this  absolute  existence  the  Su- 
preme Will,  the  Superior  Intelligence.  They  suppose 
that  he  has  alternate  periods  of  activity  and  repose. 
When  active,  he  creates,  not  from  any  will  to  do  so, 
but  from  inherent  laws  of  development.  Thus  ema- 
nate successive  worlds,  all  changeable,  illusory,  unreal, 
destined  finally  to  return  again  to  the  void.  Spirit- 
ual existences  are  evolved  in  descending  gradations 
down  to  man.  Human  beings  may  become  so 
plunged  in  error  and  ignorance,  as  finally  to  lose  all 
power  of  perceiving  what  is  good  and  true.  From  this 
low  condition  they  can  never  be  raised  without  the 
aid  of  superior  intellegences.  The  Supreme  cannot 
descend  to  their  relief,  for  he  is  incapable  of  motion 
or  change  ;  but  his  first  emanations,  a  high  order  of 
spiritual  existences,  change  themselves  with  this 
mission  of  salvation.  They  descend  to  the  inferior 
worlds,  even  down  to  the  lowest  hells,  to  give 
wretched  creatures  an  example  of  virtue,  explain  the 
cause  of  their  misery,  and  teach  them  how  to  attain 
supreme  happiness." 


God-Idea  of  the  Hindoos.  33 

Their  cosmology  is  evolution  from  void,  and  a 
resolution  back  again  to  void  after  a  cycle  of  ages. 
Their  ideas  of  nature  are  entirely  anthromorphitic. 
The  perfection  of  a  world  depends  on  the  moral 
character  of  its  inhabitants.  In  proportion  as  the 
beings  of  a  world  are  saved,  and  ascend  to  superior 
worlds,  that  world  disappears.  Thus,  after  infinite 
ages,  all  return  to  the  Supreme  Essence,  to  re-appear 
in  new  successive  emanations.  All  these  ascending 
and  descending  movements  have  their  source  in  laws 
of  inherent  necessity. 

Buddha  has  already  been  four  times  incarnated  in 
the  present  world.  His  worshipers  call  him  "The 
Saviour,"  and  anxiously  await  his  coming  to  restore 
the  world  to  order  and  happiness. 

India,  as  well  as  Europe,  has  its  school  of  Ration- 
alists. They  deny  the  authority  of  the  Vedas  ;  reject 
the  doctrine  that  God  is  everywhere  in  nature  ;  main- 
taining, that,  though  nature  is  an  emanation  from 
God,  she  is  entirely  independent  and  distinct,  con- 
taining within  herself  the  laws  and  principles  which 
regulate  her  phenomena. 

The  body  and  spirit  represent,  finitely,  such  a 
dualism  as  God  and  nature  represent  infinitely  ;  and 
by  withdrawing  the  senses  from  the  external  world, 
without  help  from  the  Vedas,  a  superior  life  of  holi- 
ness can  be  attained,  a  union  with  the  Supreme  Soul 
be  formed,  and  revelation  of  his  will  be  obtained. 

The  ultra  school  deny  the  existence  of  one 
Supreme,  holding  that  there  are  many.  All,  how- 
ever, believe  in  the  existence  of  a  multitude  of  infe- 
3 


34      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

rior  deities,  but  represent  them  as  very  inferior  to 
human  saints  who  have  united  themselves  with  the 
Supreme  by  a  life  of  contemplation  and  virtue. 

In  the  extreme  East,  as  well  as  the  farthest  West, 
among  the  oldest  as  well  as  the  newest  people,  mind 
has  been  subject  to  the  satne  law  of  growth,  and 
passed  through  a  similar  cycle  of  change.  The 
Hindoo  stands  before  us  with  the  concentrated 
beliefs  of  innumerable  ages.  Those  remote  times 
are  the  scaffoldings  by  which  he  has  arrived  at  his 
present  faith.  They  are  impenetrable  ;  and  we  look 
upon  the  result  as  a  whole,  and  ask,  How  avoid 
admitting  its  divine  claims  .-*  In  this  study,  as  in 
all  others,  analogy  furnishes  important  clews.  As 
the  oak  and  the  acorn  are  connected  by  the  series  of 
trees  of  all  stages  of  growth,  from  the  germinating 
sprout  to  the  giant  tree,  so  the  perfected  doctrines 
are  connected  with  the  grossest  superstitions  by  the 
intervention  of  savage  races.  Take  any  savage  peo- 
ple, at  random,  and  find  what  they  believe  ;  and  you 
have  the  belief  of  all  other  races  at  their  stage  of 
growth. 

The  Hindoo  theology  began  in  the  aspirations  of 
the  savage,  and  terminates  in  the  extreme  of  Ration- 
alism. Its  various  stages  of  growth  are  plainly 
marked.  It  has  followed  a  groove  similar  to  that 
pursued  in  its  progress  by  the  Western  mind. 

The  mark  of  divine  thought  is  manifested  in  its 
creeds ;  but  it  is  the  divine  and  ever-advancing 
thought  of  man.  We  believe  this,  because  it  is  a 
foreign  system  we  are  discussing.     The  Hindoo  be- 


God-Idea  of  the  Hindoos,  35 

lieves  the  same  of  our  theology :  can  we  examine  the 
latter  with  the  same  calm,  unprejudiced  spirit  ? 

But  how  was  evolved  this  intricate  maze  of  wor- 
ship ?  Very  simply  and  inevitably,  from  the  begin- 
ning. Old  as  is  Hindoo  civilization,  it  had  a  com- 
mencement ;  and  the  ancestor  of  the  believer  in 
Brahm  was  a  wild  savage,  believing  in  no  god,  but 
only  terrified  by  fear  at  the  irresistible  power  of  the 
elements.  This  was  his  course  of  thought,  —  the 
same  for  all  races :  He  gave  to  everything  a  con- 
scious existence.  Rocks,  trees,  mountains,  lakes ; 
the  winds,  the  waves  ;  whatever  excited  attention  by 
beauty,  loveliness,  or  deformity,  —  were  endowed 
with  intelligence.  The  child  repeats, this  phase  of 
thought. 

The  next  step  is  the  individualization  of  this  intel- 
ligence. A  host  of  invisible  beings  supply  the  mov- 
uig  power  to  the  visible  world.  Man  ever  regards 
nature  as  created  for  his  especial  use  ;  hence  what- 
ever conflicts  with  his  interests  is  evil,  and  whatever 
administers  to  his  wants  is  good.  Both  these  condi- 
tions exist  in  nature.  There  is  good  and  evil :  there 
must  be  good  and  bad  invisible  beings.  There  is  a 
dualism  in  nature :  there  are  two  sources  of  power. 
By  generalizing,  there  is  a  good  and  an  evil  deity. 
It  is  a  long,  long  road,  and  one  beset  with  pain, 
before  the  necessity  of  one  supreme  control  is  recog- 
nized. The  advance  is,  however,  made  ;  and  Brahm, 
the  Eternal  One,  unchanged  amid  all  changes, 
serene  amid  obscurity,  calm  in  the  storm  of  the 
world,  is  grandly  seen  as  the  parental  source  of  all 
being. 


36      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

The  steps  in  this  magnificent  ascent  are  clearly 
and  deeply  cut :  the  personification  of  invisible 
power ;  the  dualism  personified  by  Brahma  and  Siva, 
with  the  mediation  of  Vishnu  ;  the  incarnation  of  the 
good  principle  ;  and,  lastly,  the  unitizing  of  all  phe- 
nomena in  the  eternal,  immutalDle  Brahm,  the  pri- 
mal source  and  termination,  —  are  way-marks  of  this 
progress. 

It  is  usual  to  begin  to  reason  from  the  other  side ; 
to  commence  with  Brahm,  and  end  with  the  lowest 
emanations  of  spirits :  but  nothing  can  be  more 
opposed  to  the  reality.  To  be  able  to  grasp  the  idea 
of  the  Omnipotent  One,  necessitates  ages  of  culture. 
It  is  the  great  idea  to  which  all  others  are  secondary. 
To  suppose  it  to  be  first  is  like  inferring  that  a  child 
can  comprehend  a  problem  in  the  calculus  before  it 
can  perform  an  operation  in  addition.  There  is 
growth,  not  from  the  great  to  the  small,  but  from  the 
small  to  the  great.  The  Hindoos  began  with  the 
forces  of  nature,  and  frbin  the  constitution  of  their 
own  minds,  by  the  slow  growth  of  their  mental 
powers,  wrought  out  a  theological  system  suited  to 
their  needs,  just  as  they  did  their  systems  of  science, 
art,  and  government.  All  bear  the  impress  of  the 
same  master,  and  that  impress  is  entirely  human. 


II. 

THE   GOD-IDEA   OF   THE   EGYPTIANS,    CHALDEANS, 
AND    PERSIANS. 

The  first  form  of  religious  belief  is  nothing  else  but  a  horror  of  the  unknown. 

...     No  natural  religion  appears  to  have  been  able  to  develop,  from  a 

germ  within  itself,  anything  whatever  of  real  advantage  to  civilization.  — 

Waitz,  "  Anthropologie." 
The  universe  is  an  harmonious  whole,  the  soul  of  which  is  God.     Numbers, 

figures,  the  stars,  all  nature  indeed,  are  in  unison  with  the  mysteries  of 

religion.  —  Kepler. 

THE  geographical  position  of  Egypt  made  it  im- 
possible for  its  people  to  escape  the  influence 
of  foreign  religions.  It  was  the  gateway  between 
Asia  and  Africa,  and  a  vortex  of  nations.  For  ages 
it  was  a  grand  battle-ground,  where  contending  races 
fought  for  supremacy.  The  original  substratum  on 
which  was  imposed  the  shepherd  races  is  indetermi- 
nate in  the  night  of  countless  centuries  which  gath- 
ers over  the  dim  myths  of  history. 

The  matured  theology  of  Egypt  resembled,  in 
many  essential  points,  that  of  India,  of  which  it  un- 
doubtedly was  a  branch.  The  paternal  tree  did  not 
remain  stationary,  neither  did  the  scion  ;  but,  al- 
though both  changed,  the  common  characteristics 
were  preserved.  Both  countries  had  a  powerful 
hereditary  priesthood,  who  held  exclusive  possession 


38        Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

of  the  sacred  books,  and  all  the  learning  extant  in 
their  time  ;  and  were  the  judges,  physicians,  and  as- 
tronomers. In  both  countries,  society  was  divided 
into  castes,  the  sacerdotal  being  the  highest.  The 
priests  were  allowed  in  both  to  marry,  and  neither 
tolerated  female  priests.  Both  held  their  rivers  to 
be  sacred  ;  that  there  was  a  reservoir  of  water  above 
the  firmament ;  that  there  was  a  fifth  element  above 
our  atmosphere  called  ether ;  that  the  castes  were 
successive  emanations  from  one  universal  soul ;  and 
that  transmigration  was  the  destiny  of  the  soul. 

Their  architecture  was  similar,  copying  the  gloomy 
cavern,  and  taking  the  firmly  based  pyramid  as  a 
model.  Their  sacrifices  were  similar,  and  their  as- 
tronomical systems  nearly  the  same. 

The  Hindoos  exerted  a  great  influence  on  Egyp- 
tian religion,  as  is  thus  seen. 

Egypt  was  originally  governed  by  the  gods,  the 
last  of  whom  was  Osiris  and  his  son  Horus  ;  but,  by 
gentle  gradations,  it  descends  from  this  sublime 
height  to  mortal  kings, 

Osiris  was  the  representative  of  the  active  and 
passive  powers  of  nature.  He  was  the  fructifying 
power  of  the  universe.  The  sun  was  his  sacred  em- 
blem, as  was  the  Hindoo  sign  of  rejproduction,  and  a 
serpent  emblematic  of  immortality.  He  was  the 
"  oldest  son  of  Time,  and  courser  of  the  day," 

While  incarnated,  he  fulfilled  a  glorious  mission,  in- 
structing men  how  to  cultivate  and  prepare  the  corn 
and  the  grape,  and  other  secret  arts  of  agriculture ; 
after  which,  through  the  regions  of  the  dead,  he  as- 


Good  and  Evil.  39 

cended  to  higher  life,  first  overcoming  the  evil  princi- 
ple. Henceforth  he  became  judge  of  the  dead,  and 
ruler  over  the  souls  of  good  men.  He  was  thus  made 
the  dispenser  of  immortal  life.  As  the  only  deity  who 
had  become  incarnated,  he  was  more  reverenced  than 
all  the  eight  higher  gods.  It  was  irreverent  to  utter 
his  name.  Herodotus  speaks  of  him  as  "  one  whose 
name  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  disclose." 

Ra  represented  the  visible  sun,  and  was  wor- 
shiped with  splendid  ceremonials  at  Heliopolis. 

Troth,  representing  the  moon,  presided  over  learn- 
ing, and  was  the  mediator  between  gods  and  men. 

The  perplexing  problem  of  the  origin  of  good  and 
evil  was  solved  by  the  Egyptians  by  supposing  Ty- 
pho,  the  God  of  Destruction,  to  be  the  twin  brother 
of  Osiris,  the  Creator.  He  was  the  god  of  darkness 
and  eclipse  ;  the  source  of  drought,  disease,  deluge, 
conflagration,  and  every  malign  influence  affecting 
the  happiness  of  man.  He  ruled  the  terrible,  destruc- 
tive energies  of  the  sea,  —  the  storm,  the  whirlwind. 
He  was  sculptured  as  a  frightful  monster,  or  sym- 
bolized by  the  ravaging  hippopotamus. 

The  most  exalted  goddess  was  Neith,  who  reigned 
inseparably  with  Amon  in  the  sphere  of  ether.  She 
was  the  mother  of  the  gods,  and  the  feminine  origin 
of  all  things.  Her  especial  province  was  wisdom, 
philosophy,  military  tactics,  and  morals.  Her  tem- 
ples at  Sais  exceeded  in  colossal  grandeur  any  before 
seen,  and  her  power  was  written  on  their  walls  in 
characters  deciphered  by  Champollion  :  — 

"  I  am  all  that  has  been,  all  that  is,  and  all  that 


40       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

will  be.     No  mortal  has  ever  raised  the  veil  that 
conceals  me.     My  offspring  is  the  sun." 

Isis  was  universally  worshiped,  and  held  in  pecu- 
liar reverence.  She  was  the  universal  passive  prin- 
ciple of  generation,  as  Osiris  was  the  active.  She 
was  the  recipient  or  mold  of  the  life  imparted.  She 
was  the  origin  of  Xh^form  of  all  good,  as  Osiris  was 
the  soul.  She  was  Nature,  —  the  prolific  mother 
containing  the  germs  of  all  life ;  hence  her  symbol 
was  an  t.^'g.  Both  she  and  Osiris  were  represented 
as  bearing  the  Egyptian  cross,  emblem  of  life.  The 
most  beautiful  representation  pictures  her  nursing 
the  infant  Horus,  son  of  Osiris.  This  is  the  holy  u , 
family  of  Egypt,  which  the  artists  loved  to  depict. 
She  is  always  by  the  side  of  that  god  in  Amenti, 
when  he  presides  as  judge  of  the  dead.  She  reigned 
with  him  on  earth ;  and,  when  she  died,  her  soul  was 
transferred  to  Sirius.  As  that  star  is  accidentally 
connected  by  its  risings  with  the  inundations  of  the 
Nile,  it  was  taken  as  the  cause  of  that  event,  and 
received  divine  honors. 

The  forces  of  nature  were  distributed  among  the 
innumerable  host  of  inferior  deities  and  spirits.  The 
stars  were  animated  with  souls  who  took  a  deep 
interest  in  human  affairs.  Nilus  presided  over  the 
Nile  ;  Canopus,  over  the  waters  ;  Khan  and  the  god- 
dess Ranno,  over  gardens  and  vineyards  ;  Anouke, 
over  purity  and  household  ties  ;  and  every  month, 
corresponding  to  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  had  its  at- 
tendant and  ruling  spirit.  To  every  human  being 
was  awarded  an  attending  spirit ;  and,  in  a  descend- 


Belief  in  Immortality.  41 

ing  scale,  air,  earth,  water,  stones,  plants,  and  ani- 
mals, all  had  their  attending  genii,  good  or  bad 
according  to  their  qualities  in  reference  to  man. 

The  masculine  and  feminine  elements  were  a 
dualism  of  forces  universally  diffused.  The  presid- 
ing deities  of  every  place  formed  a  trinity.  At 
Thebes,  it  was  Amun,  the  creative  wisdom  ;  Neith, 
the  spiritual  mother ;  and  a  third,  supposed  to  repre- 
sent the  universe.  At  Philae,  it  was  Osiris,  the 
generating  cause  ;  I  sis,  the  receptive  mold ;  and 
Horus,  the  result. 

The  future  of  man,  in  his  relation  to  the  gods,  was 
similar  to  that  taught  by  the  Brahmans.  After  many 
transmigrations,  completed  in  three  thousand  years, 
the  soul  would  be  absorbed  into  the  Eternal  Soul, 
and  enter  the  original  body  it  had  left.  Hence  the 
care  bestowed  in  embalming  the  dead,  and  the  rev- 
erence in  which  their  bodies  were  held. 

The  belief  in  immortality  is  closely  allied  with 
that  of  a  supreme  being,  and  is  of  very  ancient  date. 

On  a  monument  dating  ages  before  Abraham  is 
this  epitaph  :  "  May  thy  soul  attain  to  the  Creator  of 
all  mankind  ! "  The  two  beliefs  growing  out  of  the 
same  faculties  of  the  mind  go  hand  in  hand. 

Of  the  animal  worship  for  which  Egyptian  my- 
thology has  become  famous,  little  need  be  said.  The 
bull  Apis  was  an  object  of  veneration,  and  had  tem- 
ples erected  to  him.  The  cat,  alligator,  and  other 
animals,  were  also  venerated  in  certain  localities. 
Such  worship  awakens  our  mirth,  as  it  called  forth 
the  satire  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  who  might 


42       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

better  have  directed  their  shafts  against  the  absurdi- 
ties oi'  their  own  beliefs.  Our  own  mythology  is 
not  exempt  from  ridicule.  All  dogmas  and  beliefs 
grow  out  of  the  necessities  of  their  times,  are  un- 
questioningly  received,  and  satisfy  an  ardent  want. 
We  cannot  sympathise  with  the  worshipers  of  Apis  ; 
but  they  were  honest  believers,  and  acted  accord- 
ing to  their  highest  knowledge. 

The  sacred  books  of  Hermes  were  as  holy  to  the 
Egyptians  as  the  Bible  is  to  the  most  devout  rflod- 
ern  Christian.  The  Pantheistic  idea  of  the  univer- 
sality of  God  made  them  abhor  the  shedding  of 
blood  ;  and,  from  the  symbolical  representation  of 
spiritual  ideas  by  animal  forms,  their  worship  became 
degraded  to  idolizing  the  brutes  themselves. 

The  Egyptian  mythology  clearly  indicates  its  der- 
ivation from  grossest  Fetichism  by  the  hold  that  be- 
lief retained,  even  during  the  most  splendid  epoch 
of  their  civilization,  and  the  tendency  of  the  masses 
towards  that  simple  form  of  expression  of  faith. 

In  the  light  of  her  glory  as  the  seat  of  learning, 
Egypt  could  boast  of  all  grades  of  worship,  from  the 
ignorant  rustic,  bowing  in  abject  devotion  before  a 
a  leek  or  garlic,  to  the  adoration  of  the  sage  for  an 
abstract  idea.  The  gulf  dividing  these  extremes  was 
greater  even  than  at  present. 

Chaldea. 

It  is  interesting  to  learn  the  beliefs  of  these  old 
races,  almost  concealed  and  lost  in  the  night  of 


Chaldea.  43 

time  ;  for,  by  this  means,  we  find  that  what  we  call 
new  is  only  one  of  the  countless  forms  of  the  old, 
which,  like  water,  takes  the  form  of  the  containing 
vessel.  The  world  is  ever  a  new  world  to  the  child, 
or  the  new  race.  We  cannot,  therefore,  comprehend 
the  new,  unless  we  learn  the  past ;  for  it  is  the  prod- 
uct of  a  germ  deeply  buried  in  the  past,  and  its  roots 
strike  down  through  the  interminable  superimposed 
strata  of  past  civilizations.  By  understanding  the 
beliefs  of  contemporary  peoples,  we  comprehend  the 
doctrines  of  the  Jews ;  and,  as  the  latter  are  the  basis 
of  Christianity,  the  subject  is  to  us  of  vital  interes.t. 

The  Chaldeans  were  of  the  Semitic  stock,  and 
were  impressed  with  the  grand  idea  of  Monotheism 
in  common  with  their  race.  The  vast  plains  and  des- 
erts which  formed  their  home,  by  the  sameness  of  the 
scenes  nature  presented,  re-acted  on  the  minds  of 
this  singular  people.  With  awe  we  exhume  the  grand 
sculptured  cities  of  their  creation,  whose  age  ante- 
dates the  chronology  of  history,  and  idly  conjecture 
of  the  builders. 

What  little  is  known  of  them  can  be  briefly  stated. 
They  believed  in  one  supreme  being,  from  whom,  by 
successive  emanations,  a  multitude  of  subordinate 
deities  were  evolved.  The  human  soul  was  a  portion 
of  this  supreme,  and  originally  had  wings,  which 
must  be  reproduced  before  it  can  return  to  its  source. 
This  idea  came  from  received  notions  of  a  better 
past,  lost  by  the  spirit  coming  to  earth,  connected 
with  a  childish  longing  for  the  swift  wings  of  a  bird, 
which  seemed  most  desirable,  and,  if  gained,  would 


44       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

enable  the  spirit  to  wing  its  way  through  the  ether 
to  its  original  happy  home.  The  world  was  created 
in  six  successive  periods.  Whenever  all  the  planets 
meet  in  the  sign  of  Capricorn,  the  whole  earth  is 
overwhelmed  by  a  deluge  of  water ;  and,  whenever 
they  all  meet  in  Cancer,  it  is  consumed  by  fire.  In 
this  statement  is  discernible  the  rude  outline  of  what 
was  afterwards  worked  into  the  Jewish  cosmogony,  — 
the  six  days  of  creation,  the  deluge,  and  final  destruc- 
tion by  fire. 

A  shepherd  race,  wandering  over  the  deserts, 
above  which  spreads  an  almost  cloudless  sky,  through 
which  the  stars  glow  with  uninterrupted  splendor,* 
they  early  observed  the  stars,  and  at  length  came  to 
regard  them  as  disembodied  spirits,  and  to  worship 
them. 

What  object  in  the  entire  range  of  startling  phe- 
nomena presented  by  nature  is  as  astonishing  as  the 
rising  of  the  sun  "i  The  breaking  light  wakes  all 
nature  from  slumber,  and  infuses  life  and  joy.  It  is 
the  fountain  of  life,  from  which  flows  all  activity,  and 
seems  the  most  worthy  object  of  worship  in  creation. 
The  orb  of  night  is  second  only  in  position,  and  is 
closely  followed  by  the  planets  wandering  through 
the  sky,  yet  ever  returning.  All  of  these  commanded 
and  received  adoration.  The  highest  deity  was  Baal, 
prince  of  the  heavenly  luminaries.  The  Egyptian 
emblem  of  a  winged  circle,  or  Sun,  was  his  symbol, 
and  on  his  altar  animals  and  probably  human  beings 
were  sacrificed. 

The   magnificent  temple   erected   by  Semiramis 


Persia.  45 

contained  three  golden  statues, — one  of  Baal;  one 
supposed  to  be  the  Goddess  of  Nature  ;  and  one 
the  goddess  representing  the  planet  Venus,  who 
presided  over  generation. 

The  Goddess  of  Nature,  the  recipient  and  pre- 
server of  the  life  principle  of  the  world,  sat  in  a 
golden  chair,  with  two  lions  by  her  side,  and  two 
huge  serpents  at  her  feet.  The  forehead  of  the  other 
goddess  was  surmounted  by  a  star :  in  her  right  hand 
she  held  a  serpent ;  in  her  left,  a  sceptre  adorned  with 
gems.  By  such  symbols  did  the  souls  of  the  old 
Chaldeans  strive  to  embody  their  inchoate  and  inex- 
pressible conceptions  of  the  Divine. 


.      Persia. 

History  furnishes  many  examples  where  one  man, 
emerging  from  obscurity,  has  suddenly  elevated  his 
people  to  the  broad  platform  of  the  world's  activities. 
Among  these  great  minds,  that  shine  athwart  the 
ages  like  beacons  from  some  Eddystone  light,  few 
were  as  celebrated  in  antiquity,  yet  so  little  known 
in  the  present,  as  Zoroaster,  the  saviour  of  the  Per- 
sians. His  doctrines  slaked  the  thirst  of  many 
ancient  philosophers,  created  schisms  in  the  ranks  of 
early  Christianity,  and  present,  in  many  respects, 
unsolved  problems  to  the  learned. 

The  period  fixed  for  his  advent  varies  by  thousands 
of  years,  —  some  authors  stating  it  at  five  thousand 
years  before  the  Trojan  war,  or  six  thousand  before 


46        Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

the  Christian  era;*  while  others  maintain  that  he 
flourished  only  fifteen  hundred  years  before  that 
epoch.f  The  solution  of  this  contradiction  is  found 
by  some  scholars,  by  supposing  that  there  were  two 
personages  of  that  name,  — one  very  ancient,  and  an- 
other who  must  have  lived  before  the  commencement 
of  the  Median  Empire,  or  at  least  eight  centuries 
before  Christ.  J 

The  advent  of  this  God-man-  is  enshrined  by  a  halo 
of  myths.  His  mother  was  alarmed  in  dreams  that 
evil  spirits  sought  to  destroy  the  unborn  babe,  but 
was  assured  by  a  good  spirit,  who  said  to  her,  "  Fear 
nothing.  Osmuzd  will  protect  this  infant.  He  has 
sent  him  as  a  prophet  to  the  people.  The  world  is 
waiting  for  him." 

In  early  life  he  retired  to  a  solitary  mountain  to 
attain  holiness.  One  day  fire  descended  from  heaven 
on  this  mountain,  and  the  King  of  Persia  approached 
to  worship,  when  Zoroaster  came  down  out  of  the 
flame,  bringing  with  him  a  book  of  laws,  revealed  by 
Ormuzd  himself  This  book  is  the  Zendavesta,  or 
living  word.  It  is  believed  to  be  a  part  of  the  pri- 
meval word  by  which  creation  was  produced,  and 
that  every  syllable  possesses  inherent  virtue.  If  the 
priests  fail  to  perform  the  ritual,  or  recite  the  pre- 
scribed prayers,  it  is  supposed  the  order  of  the 
universe  will  be  disturbed,  and  all  things  fall  into 
confusion. 

Of  his  death,  it  is  said  that  he  invoked  the  spirit  of 

*  Aristotle,  Pliny,  Plato.        f  Plutarch.        %  Heeren. 


Advent  of  Zoroaster.  47 

the  constellation  Orion,  and  ascended  on  a  thunder- 
bolt. 

This  belief  existed  long  before  the  advent  of 
Moses,  and  it  is  easy  -to  discern  the  parts  which 
were  taken  to  build  the  fables  of  the  Pentateuch. 

Zoroaster  looked  through  the  confusion  of  phenom- 
ena, and  sought  to  find  the  unitizing  power  in  one 
supreme  essence,  invisible,  incomprehensible,  named 
Zeruane  Akerene,  or  Unlimited  Time,  Eternity. 
From  him  sprang  Primeval  Light,  which  gave  birth 
to  Ormuzd,  the  King  of  Light.  He  is  the  "All-See- 
ing," the  "Just  Judge,"  the  "  Sovereign  Intelligence." 
He  pronounced  the  primeval  word,  and  his  own 
abode  of  light  sprang  into  existence.  He  then  cre- 
ted  six  resplendent  spirits  or  holy  ones,  of  whom  he 
was  the  seventh,  or  highest.  The  deities  of  Benev- 
olence and  Wisdom  stand  by  his  throne,  and  bear 
to  him  the  prayers  of  inferior  spirits  and  of  men. 
He  then  created  twenty-eight  inferior  spirits  to  pre- 
side over  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ;  and,  while  they 
protect  mankind  from  evil  influences,  they  serve  as 
messengers  between  them  and  the  superior  spirits. 
The  third  order  of  spirits  are  more  numerous,  and 
are  personifications  of  the  idea  of  Ormuzd  before 
the  creation  of  the  world.  Hence  they  are  the 
archetypes  of  everything  which  exists,  the  vivifying 
principle  of  nature.  Every  mortal  as  well  as  spirit, 
even  Ormuzd  himself,  has  one  of  these  attending 
spirits. 

Khor,  the  sun,  was  called  the  eye  of  Ormuzd,  and 
was  an  object  of  universal  adoration.     The  universe 


48       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

was  thus  intrusted  to  a  chain  of  spiritual  beings, 
ascending  from  man  to  Ormuzd.  Minerals,  plants, 
insects,  earth,  water,  air,  fire,  the  months,  and  the 
days  of  the  month,  all  had  presiding  spirits. 

The  spirits  of  the  stars  were  benevolent  guardians 
of  man  and  infirm  creatures,  and  were  endowed  with 
intelligence  superior  to  the  spirits  of  the  earth. 
They  foreknew  the  events  of  the  future,  and  saw 
whatever  was  occurring  or  going  to  occur  in  the 
universe.  The  destinies  of  men  were  intimately 
connected  with  their  motions  ;  and  the  Persians  held 
them  in  such  affectionate  reverence,  that,  whenever 
they  looked  at  them,  they  devoutly  kissed  their 
hand. 

To  account  for  good  and  evil  mingled  in  nature, 
and  avoid  the  seeming  inconsistency  of  referring 
both  to  one  source,  was  the  great  problem,  or  rather 
mystery,  of  the  ancient  world.  In  reality,  it  is  no 
problem  at  all ;  but  to  a  people  who  have  not  ad- 
vanced to  the  understanding  that  nature  is  controlled 
by  unchangeable  laws,  that  evil  and  good  are  alike 
results  of  law,  and  have  only  relative  relation  as 
affecting  man,  they  appear  in  absolute  antagonism. 

The  Egyptians  solved  the  mystery  by  supposing 
the  Destructive  and  Beneficent  Principles  were  twin 
brothers.  The  Persians  satisfied  themselves  by  say- 
ing Ormuzd,  the  King  of  Light,  was  the  first  ema- 
nation from  the  Eternal  One ;  and  Arimanes,  the 
Prince  of  Darkness,  was  the  second.  Arimanes 
becoming  jealous,  the  Eternal  One  condemned  him 
for  three  thousand  years  to  the  dark  realm  of  shad- 


jO^ 


Creation  of  the  Devs.  49 

ows,  during  which  time  Ormuzd  created  the  firma- 
ment with  its  orbs  of  light.  When  the  period  of  his 
punishment  expired,  Arimanes  approached  the  light, 
and  its  dazzling  beauty  renewed  his  jealousy.  He 
set  himself  at  counteracting  the  works  of  the  Benefi- 
cent. He  created  seven  archdevs,  and  attached  them 
to  the  planets,  to  paralyze  the  works  of  the  good 
spirits,  and  substitute  evil.  He  then  created  twenty- 
eight  devs,  to  spread  all  species  of  disease  and 
distress ;  after  which  he  made  a  multitude  of  genii, 
that  every  object  might  have  an  evil  as  well  as  good 
spirit. 

Ormuzd  saw  the  disastrous  results,  and,  in  his 
beneficent  thought,  sought  to  arrest  the  increase  of 
evil  by  the  creation  of  an  egg  containing  kindly 
spirits :  but  Arimanes  created  another,  containing 
evil  spirits  ;  and  then,  to  make  the  confusion  com- 
plete and  irreparable,  he  broke  the  two  together. 

"  The  cosmogony  of  the  Zend  is  nearly  the  same 
as  that  revealed  to  the  writers  of  the  Bible  at  an 
indefinitely  later  period. 

"  Ormuzd  created  the  material  world  in  six  succes- 
sive periods.  He  first  spread  out  the  firmament  with 
its  orbs  of  light ;  second,  he  created  the  water  ;  third, 
the  earth  ;  fourth,  trees  ;  fifth,  animals  ;  sixth,  man. 
When  all  was  finished,  he  devoted  a  seventh  period 
to  festivities  with  the  good  spirits.  Arimanes  as- 
sisted in  the  creation  of  the  earth  and  water.  Or- 
muzd, by  his  will,  created  a  bull,  the  symbol  of  all 
life  upon  the  earth.  Arimanes  slew  him  ;  but  drops 
of  his  blood,  falling  on  the  ground,  afterwards  pro- 
4 


50       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

duced  various  plants  and  animals.  When  the  ele- 
mentary particles  of  his  body  had  been  purified  in 
the  light  of  the  sun  forty  years,  they  became  the 
germ  of  the  Ribas  tree,  consisting  of  two  closely 
entwined  stems.  Into  these  Ormuzd  infused  the 
truth  of  life ;  and  they  became  the  first  man  and 
woman,  named  Meshia  and  Meshiane." 

This  pair  were  created  in  perfect  purity  ;  but  were 
seduced  by  the  evil  spirits,  and  discord  and  death 
were  introduced  into  the  world. 

The  duration  of  time  is  fixed  by  the  Eternal  One 
at  twelve  thousand  years.  During  the  later  times, 
Arimanes,  notwithstanding  the  activity  of  the  good 
spirits,  will  gain  the  ascendency ;  and  the  pure  in 
heart  have  nothing  to  fear,  for  the  Eternal  has  de- 
creed the  ultimate  triumph  of  good.  At  the  end  of 
time,  a  star  with  a  tail  will  strike  the  earth,  and  set 
it  on  fire.  The  fierce  heat  will  cause  the  metals  to 
run  down  the  mountains,  and  flow  in  rivers.  All  men 
are  compelled  to  pass  through  these.  The  good  will 
experience  only  pleasure,  but  the  bad  will  suffer 
indescribable  anguish.  All  however,  even  the  incor- 
rigible Arimanes,  come  out  purified,  and  join  in  a 
universal  chorus  of  praise  to  the  eternal  source  of  all 
blessings. 

On  that  day  the  Holy  One  judges  the  world,  each 
one  according  to  his  works ;  after  which  the  new  earth 
will  be  a  source  of  indescribable  beauty,  and  inno- 
cence and  happiness  everywhere  prevail. 

Fire,  as  the  ethereal  emblem  of  the  orbs  of  the 
sky,  and  especially  of  the  sun,  was  worshiped  with 


Persian  Sacrifices.  51 

peculiar  reverence.  It  was  considered  the  most 
purifying  of  all  things.  No  dead  bodies  were  allowed 
to  be  burned ;  and  to  cast  dirt  into  the  sacred  fire,  or 
to  blow  it  with  the  breath,  was  punished  with  death. 
The  identical  fire  received  by  Zoroaster  from  Or- 
muzd  was  said  to  be  preserved,  and  was  sustained  by 
aromatic  oils  and  wood,  and  was  carried  in  front  of 
the  army  by  the  priests  when  they  went  out  to  bat- 
tle. 

The  Persians  sacrificed  vegetables,  fruits,  and  flow- 
ers. Human  beings  were  buried  alive  as  an  offering 
to  a  subterranean  deity.  To  Mithras,  the  Mediator, 
they  sacrificed  beautiful  white  horses.  In  early  times, 
worship  was  always  performed  in  the  open  air,  it  be- 
ing considered  irreverent  to  confine  the  Deity  within 
walls  ;  but  in  after  times  temples  were  erected,  and 
numerous  oratories,  where  the  sacred  fire  was  kept 
burning  for  the  people  to  go  in  and  pray. 

In  these  Persian  and  Chaldean  myths,  we  discern 
the  source  of  what  may  be  called  the  substratum  of 
Christian  beliefs.  It  is  usual  for  divines  to  escape 
this  conclusion  by  reversing  the  table,  and  supposing 
the  laws  were  the  original,  and  every  other  belief  in 
the  world  to  be  derived  from  them.  This  is  very 
convenient  when  a  certain  infallible  creed  is  to  be 
sustained,  but  it  is  neither  the  philosophical  nor  true 
method.  Chronology  gives  the  Zoroasterian  doc- 
trines the  precedence  ;  and,  if  the  Jewish  agree  with 
them,  it  proves  their  derivation.  It  would  be  strange 
indeed,  if  a  neighboring  people,  brought  in  contact 
by  the  arts  of  peace,  and  for  centuries  amalgamated 


52       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

by  the  influence  of  conquest,  scattered,  as  the  Bible 
says,  over  the  whole  Persian  Empire,  should  not  ab- 
sorb some,  at  le^st,  of  the  ideas  of  their  conquerors. 
An  examination  of  their  beliefs  will  show  the  subject 
in  clearer  light,  and  strengthen  the  conclusion  of  the 
human  source  of  the  Hebrew  myths. 


^r 


III. 

THE   GOD- IDEA   OF   THE  JEWS. 

The  words  translated  "  God,"  "  Devil,"  etc.,  in  the  various  dialects  of  sav- 
ages, simply  mean  the  manifestations  of  the  unseen  world,  and  have  no 
relation  to  personal  being. 

Two  things  are  necessary  to  render  religion  possible, — namely,  a  religious 
faculty  in  man  ;  and  God  out  of  man,  as  an  object  of  that  religious  fac- 
ulty.—  Theodore  Parker. 

IT  is  assumed  by  popular  theology,  and  advocated 
by  noted  critics,  and  generally  received,  that  the 
Jewish  nation  was  selected  by  the  Almighty  to  car- 
ry down  to  later  ages  the  knowledge  of  the  one  true 
God.  The  entire  Semitic  race  is  thought  to  be  mon- 
otheistic, and  to  have  enacted  an  important  part  in 
the  history  of  the  world  by  introducing  this  other- 
wise foreign  element. 

Paley,  Milman,  and  Renan,  speak  glowingly  of  the 
pure  monotheism  of  the  Jew,  contrasted  with  the 
polytheism  of  surrounding  nations.  Only  the  dust 
which  gathers  over  theological  glasses  could  so  ob- 
scure nien's  minds,  otherwise  clear,  to  the  truth. 

The  Jews  at  the  beginning  were  not  monotheists, 
nor  did  they  ever  obtain  the  conceptions  of  divinity 
revealed  by  the  philosophers  of  Greece.  Their  his- 
tory reveals  the  fact,  traced  in  that  of  all  nations,  of 


54       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

a  gradual  progress  from  fetichism  to  a  grand  concep- 
tion of  one  Almighty  Power. 

The  individual  first  sets  up  a  god,  which  becomes 
a  god  of  his  family ;  and,  when  the  family  enlarges 
into  a  tribe  or  nation,  the  family  penates  becomes 
the  national  deity,  and  from  thence  ascends  to  the 
position  of  the  God  of  the  universe. 

It  is  expressly  said  that  the  father  and  grandfather 
of  Abraham  worshiped  other  gods  ;  and  Abraham 
himself  was  doubtless  taught  the  planetary  worship 
of  the  Chaldeans,  and  accustomed  to  pay  devotion  to 
images.  In  the  entire  course  of  Abrahamic  history, 
his  God  is  represented  as  acting  so  meanly  and  des- 
picably, that  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  concluding  that  he 
is  anything  more  than  the  reflection  of  the  mind  of 
his  devotee.  God  sits  at  the  door  of  Abraham's 
tent ;  partakes  of  a  repast ;  is  angry  because  Sarah 
laughs  ;  and,  after  discussing  the  case  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  says  he  is  going  down  there,  to  prove  the 
reports  that  have  reached  him. 

The  expression  "  Jehovah  Elohim,  the  God  of 
gods,"  indicates  the  Jewish  beliefs  in  other  gods. 
When  Jacob  stole  Laban's  gods,  the  latter  pursued 
him.  Then  Jacob  made  a  condition  on  which  he  select- 
ed Jehovah  for  his  God  :  he  made  him  a  confidant 
in  his  trickery,  and  wrestles  and  extorts  by  main  force 
a  blessing. 

Out  of  a  host  of  deities,  Abraham  selects  one,  and 
promises  obedience  to  that  one.  When  his  tribe  mul- 
tiplies, his  individual  god  becomes  a  national  deity. 
In  the  hands  of  Moses,  educated  in  the  sacred  Egyp- 


Abrahamic  Legends.  55 

tian  mysteries,  this  god  improves  in  character,  and 
the  national  worship  becomes  more  monotheistic. 
But  all  Moses  claimed  for  his  God  was  superiority. 
"  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  Jehovah,  among  the  gods  1 " 
He  writes  in  the  commandments,  "  Thou  shalt  have 
no  other  gods  beside  (or  before)  me."  Joshua  does 
not  represent  the  desertion  of  Jehovah  as  atheism, 
but  simply  as  ingratitude. 

With  all  the  energy  displayed  by  their  intrepid 
leader,  they,  however,  constantly  relapsed  into  idol- 
atry. 

With  the  advance  of  culture,  the  same  difference 
between  the  God  of  the  educated  and  ignorant  man, 
as  seen  in  Greece,  occurs.  One  is  an  intangible 
spirit,  the  other  an  enlarged  man. 

Of  the  ideas  of  the  rude  patriarchs  concerning 
Deity,  little  is  known.  Abraham  seems  to  have 
obtained  a  glimpse  of  the  eternal  power  of  creation, 
and  to  have  believed  that  all  the  deities  of  surround- 
ing peoples  were  only  subordinate  beings.  By  pay- 
ing devotion  directly  to  the  Supreme,  and  thus  be- 
coming his  chosen  people,  they  at  once  became 
exalted  above  all  other  nations.  Wise  and  sagacious 
as  Abraham  is  said  to  have  been,  he  still  retained 
the  traditions  of  his  education.  He  held  to  the  popu- 
lar belief  in  the  sacredness  of  groves,  and  planted  one 
"at  Beersheba."  Wherever  he  sojourned,  he  erected 
an  altar,  and  sacrificed  to  the  Lord.  He  even  was 
imbued  with  the  notion,  universal  among  the  ancients, 
that  human  sacrifice  was  acceptable  to  the  gods,  and 
so  nearly  consummated  that  of  his  son  Isaac. 


56        Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

The  sale  of  Joseph  by  his  brethern  first  brought 
the  nomadic  Jews  in  historic  contact  with  Egypt, 
then  the  bright  focus  of  all  the  world.  During  a 
residence  of  four  hundred  years,  they  must  have  ac- 
quired many  of  the  names,  customs,  and  myths  of 
that  people.  Joseph  married  a  daughter  of  a  priest 
of  On,  and  was  skilled  in  magic.  When  he  died,  his 
body  was  embalmed.  Moses  is  said  to  have  been 
"  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians."  As 
the  adopted  son  of  the  king,  he  was  allowed  free 
access  to  the  sacred  knowledge  of  the  priests,  and 
was  initiated  into  the  Great  Mysteries,  where  he 
learned  the  most  secret  doctrines  of  the  Sacerdotal 
Order.  From  the  fitful  glances  of  fragmentary  his- 
tory, we  learn  that  those  mysteries  taught  the  exis- 
tence of  one  Invisible,  all-powerful  God,  whose 
attributes  were  symbolized  by  the  numerous  deities 
worshiped  by  different  nations.  This  all  Moses 
adopted  as  his  particular  guardian  and  friend.  In 
this  he  was  sanctioned  by  the  long  series  of  patriar- 
chal teachings.  But,  exalted  as  was  this  conception, 
the  ritual  he  prescribed  bore  a  strong  resemblance 
to  its  Egyptian  model.  He  called  his  God  "  Jehovah," 
a  word  containing  the  past,  present,  and  future  tenses 
of  the  Hebrew  word  "  to  be,"  signifying  "  I  was,  am, 
and  will  be."  This  strikingly  resembles  an  inscription 
on  a  very  ancient  Egyptian  temple,  —  "I  am  what- 
ever is,  was,  and  will  be."  The  names  of  Egyptian 
deities  were  never  expressed  in  the  popular  language, 
and  in  the  sacred  dialect  were  not  pronounced  as 
written.    The  same  reverence  for  the  name  of  their 


The  Tabernacle  and  Ark.  57 

deity  is  felt  by  the  Hindoo.  The  Jews  followed  the 
example  of  their  Egyptian  masters  in  their  rever- 
ence for  the  name  "Jehovah,"  expressing  it  by  a  short 
mark  which  they  read  "  Lord."  The  priestly  judges 
of  Egypt  always  wore  a  breastplate  ornamented  with 
jewels  ;  and  this  breastplate,  set  with  the  Urim  and 
Thmmim,  was  retained  by  Moses. 

The  tabernacle  was  a  copy  of  the  Egyptian  temple, 
with  its  tank  of  water,  its  holy  of  holies,  veiled  from 
vulgar  gaze.  In  the  innermost  sanctuary  of  the 
temple  was  a  chest,  or  shrine,  on  which  was  placed 
a  sacred  image,  overshadowed  by  creatures  with 
wings,  transposed  into  Hebrew  mythology  as  cheru- 
bim. Scholars  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  after 
much  discussion,  that  these  cherubim  were  similar 
to  the  winged  bulls  so  common  in  Chaldean  and 
Egyptian  sculptures. 

The  ark  had  rings,  through  which  poles  were 
slipped,  that  it  might  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of 
priests.  The  Egyptian  priests  are  represented  in 
the  sculptures  as  carrying  shrines  in  the  same 
manner. 

The  anointing  of  kings  and  priests  with  sacred 
oil  was  an  Egyptian  custom,  as  was  the  lineal  descent 
of  the  high-priesthood,  the  setting-apart  of  lands,  the 
wearing  of  pure  white  linen  at  certain  sacrifices,  and 
the  festival  to  welcome  the  new  moon.  Their  offer- 
ings to  their  gods  were  precisely  like  those  prescribed 
by  Moses.  They  believed  that  burnt  offerings  were 
a  grateful  savor  to  the  gods.  The  scape-goat,  and 
purification  by  the  ashes  of  a  red  heifer,  were  pecu- 


58       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

liar  Egyptian  observances  imitated  by  Moses.  From 
time  immemorial,  traveling  parties  in  Hindostan 
carry  with  them  a  pole  with  the  image  of  a  serpent 
wreathed  around  it.  The  Egyptians  connected  the 
serpent  with  the  healing  art.  The  emblem  of  the 
Greek  god  of  medicine  was  a  serpent  wreathed 
around  a  staff.  Moses  made  a  serpent  of  brass,  and 
placed  it  on  a  pole ;  "  and  it  came  to  pass,  that,  if 
a  serpent  had  bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld  the 
serpent  of  brass  he  lived."  ^, 

The  Egyptians  abhored  swine,  and  considered 
them  unclean  above  all  food  :  if  a  priest  touched  one 
accidentally,  he  went  through  the  ceremonies  of  puri- 
fication. Moses  commanded  the  Israelites  not  to 
eat  nor  touch  the  flesh  or  carcass,  and  prescribes 
ceremonies  of  purification  should  this  be  done. 

Circumcision  was  a  peculiar  Egyptian  rite,  and  at 
the  time  of  Moses  was  considered  by  them  to  be  of 
more  importance  than  by  the  Hebrews. 

The  destruction  of  Egyptian  records  severs  Hebrew 
theology  from  that  of  the  Nile  ;  but  these  fragments 
show  how  intimately  they  were  interwoven.  Moses 
made  a  great  step  in  advance.  He  erected  a  priestly 
caste.  His  whole  nation  became  a  holy  people.  The 
sacred  mysteries  of  religion  were  freely  divulged  to 
all,  at  least  the  concealed  portion  was  reduced  to  a 
minimum,  and  the  invisible  God  was  worshiped 
without  the  intervention  of  images.  This  God  dwelt 
in  the  midst  of  the  people,  sustaining,  overwatching, 
rewarding,  and  punishing  them.  The  prevalent  idea 
of  masculine  and  feminine  deities  he  discarded,  and, 


'  Chaldean  Gods.  59 

with  it,  the  impurities  of  popular  mythology.  But 
we  must  speak  gratifiedly  of  the  purity  of  his  ideas 
of  God.  If  removed  from  the  passion  of  love,  he  was 
not  from  those  of  hate,  jealousy,  and  revenge.  He 
is  changeable,  and  can  be  conciliated.  His  charac- 
ter is  that  of  the  Jew,  intensified.  As  the  gods  of 
Greece  were  embodiments  of  the  ardent  imagination 
of  the  Greeks,  Jehovah  assimilated  the  iron  complex- 
ion of  the  Hebrew.  He  commands  them  to  smite 
surrounding  nations,  and  spare  not ;  to  kill  the  men, 
and  take  the  women  for  themselves  ;  and  enjoy  the 
"  vineyards  they  had  not  planted,  and  harvests  they 
had  not  saved." 

The  patriarchs  were  on  most  familiar  terms  with 
God.  They  often  saw  him  and  talked  with  him.  He 
wrote  the  Ten  Commandments  on  a  tablet  of.  stone, 
and  enters  into  the  minutest  details  of  rules  and  ob- 
servances, even  to  the  fringe  on  the  priest's  garments ; 
yet  they  constantly  reverted  to  idolatry,  or  the  wor- 
ship of  other  gods. 

Aaron  erected  an  altar  to  a  golden  calf,  which  they 
worshiped,  in  imitation  of  the  Egyptian  Apis ;  and  in 
the  next  generation,  after  making  the  most  binding 
compact  with  Jehovah,  they  fell  into  the  worship  of 
the  Chaldean  gods  of  the  sun  and  moon.  Restored 
by  Gideon,  the  true  worship  was  again  deserted  at 
his  death  for  Baal-Berith. 

When  the  Hebrews  dwelt  in  tents,  a  tent  served 
for  their  God  :  but,  when  the  king  built  a  house  for 
himself,  it  occurred  to  him  that  his  God  ought  not 
to  dwell  less  honorably  ;  and  this  idea,  broached  by 


6o       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

David,  was  fully  carried  out  by  Solomon  in  the  tem- 
ple that  Sacred  Writ  has  made  famous.  The  idea 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  surrounding  nations,  all  of 
whom  had  temples,  many  far  surpassing  in  size  and 
splendor  that  of  Solomon.  It  was  not  in  accordance 
with  Jewish  policy  to  multiply  their  temples.  The 
one  God  must  have  one  temple,  to  which  the  nations 
must  come,  around  which  it  must  gather,  and  far 
from  which  it  could  not  expand.  Their  God  was 
wholly  exclusive.  The  Mosaic  religion  was  for  a 
tribe,  a  small  nation  circumscribed  in  its  territory. 
In  their  most  depressed  state,  the  Jews  asserted  their 
lofty  and  exclusive  claims  as  the  only  chosen  people 
of  God.  They  sought  not  to  convert,  but  to  repel. 
Adopted  by  a  single  family  on  the  plains  of  Chaldea, 
when  that  family  became  as  the  sands  of  the  sea- 
shore, he  still  maintained  his  supreme  place. 

In  what  may  be  called  the  vulgar  rendering  of  the 
great  cardinal  principles,  the  Hebrews  were  as  lost, 
and  conjectured  as  childishly,  as  any  of  their  despised 
neighbors.  They  adopted  the  prevailing  idea  of 
subordinate  spirits,  employed  by  God  as  mediums 
of  communication  with  man.  Their  most  ancient 
name  for  God,  "  Elohim,"  means  "  more  than  one  ; " 
and  God  is  represented  by  a  plural  pronoun  in  the 
Bible,  —  as,  "  Let  us  make  man  after  our  image ; " 
"  Man  is  become  as  one  of  us." 

The  Hindoo  sacred  books  describe  the  grand, 
beautiful  "  spirits  of  singing  stars,"  who  rejoice 
together  when  a  good  deed  is  accomplished.  Their 
counter  part  is  found  in  Job,  who  says,  "  When  the 


The  Cabala.  6i 

foundations  of  the  earth  were  fastened,  and  the 
corner-stone  thereof  was  laid,  the  [spirits  of  the] 
morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy." 

The  captivity  in  Babylon  exerted  a  marked  influ- 
ence on  the  Jews.  Previously  they  believed  in  the 
existence  of  evil  spirits,  but  not  until  then  did  they 
form  a  conception  of  a  great  rebellious  spirit  in  oppo- 
sition to  God.  They  then  transplanted  the  Persian 
Arimanes  into  their  mythology.  Daniel  considered 
Michael  the  protecting  spirit  of  the  Jews  ;  thereby 
showing,  that,  like  all  the  surrounding  nations,  he 
believed  each  people  had  a  guardian  spirit.  Tobit 
borrows  the  Persian  Amshaspands,  and  alludes  to 
their  office  when  he  causes  Raphael  to  say,  "  I  am  one 
of  the  seven  holy  angels  which  present  the  prayers 
of  the  saints,  and  go  in  and  out  before  the  holy  one." 

The  Cabala  embodies  the  traditions  which  through 
the  passing  ages  attached  themselves  to  the  Mosaic 
writings,  and  may  be  called  the  mythological  part  of 
Hebrew  theology.  According  to  it,  God  was  pure 
uncreated  light,  existing  by  necessity  of  his  nature, 
filling  all  space,  and  having  inherent  life  and  motion. 
He  was  the  infinite,  of  whose  ideas  beings  were  rep- 
resentatives, and  in  whom  they  always  existed. 
Wisdom  was  the  feminine  infinite ;  and  from  the  two 
sprang  the  first  Adam,  the  "  express  image  of  God." 
From  the  latter  was  evolved  ten  spirits  and  four 
worlds,  the  lowest  of  which  is  the  earth.  Planets 
and  stars  are  animated  by  spirits,  who  were  inter- 
ested in  the  affairs  of  men,  could  communicate  with 


62       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History 

them,  and  prophesy.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous 
of  them  was  Netraton  the  Mediator,  who  recorded 
the  good  deeds  of  men.  There  were  lower  orders  of 
spirits,  the  evil  ones,  whose  chief  was  Belial.  They 
constantly  sought  to  destroy  the  labor  of  the  good. 
God  was  thus  removed  by  the  interposition  of  spirit- 
ual agencies  from  matter,  and  man  became  the  end 
and  care  of  creative  energy. 

So  great  was  the  veneration  of  the  Jews  for  their 
sacred  writings,  that  they  did  not  allow  the  book  of 
the  law  to  be  written  on  parchment  made  from  the 
skin  of  any  unclean*  animal,  or  prepared  by  any  one 
but  an  Israelite.  When  copied,  not  a  word  must  be 
written  from  memory,  and  every  word  must  be  pro- 
nounced before  written.  Before  they  wrote  the  name 
of  Deity,  they  always  washed  the  pen.  Before  they 
touched  the  book,  they  washed  their  hands,  and  not 
then  unless  it  was  first  covered. 

The  value  of  the  Jewish  belief  is  estimated  in  a 
masterly  manner  by  De  Wette.  They  never  reached 
a  high  degree  of  culture,  not  even  as  high  as  sur- 
rounding nations.  Their  literature  was  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  priests,  and  essentially  theocratico- 
mythological.  They  set  out  with  the  idea  that  God 
miraculously  interposed  in  the  affairs  of  men,  and 
thus  unitized  all  their  writings  by  this  theocratic  o- 
religious  pragmatism. 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  makes  the  Old  Testament 
a  history  of  God.  Its  miracles  have  their  origin  in 
ignorance,  and  in  the  distance  of  time  between  the 
events  and  their  narrative. 


IV 


THE   GOD-IDEA   OF   THE   ARABIANS. 

Will  our  line  reach  to  the  bottom  of  God  ?  There  is  nothing  on  earth  or 
in  heaven  to  which  we  can  compare  him  :  of  course  we  can  have  no  im- 
age of  him  in  the  mind.  —  Theodore  Parker. 

THE  Arabians  are  a  branch  of  the  Semitic  stock ; 
and,  as  theology  partakes  decidedly  of  the  char- 
acters of  race,  their  conceptions  of  Deity  resemble 
those  of  their  near  relatives,  the  Jews. 

Previous  to  Mohammed,  they  were  worshipers  of 
the  stars,  angels,  and  their  images  ;  which  they  hon- 
ored as  inferior  deities,  and  mediators  between  man 
and  the  supreme  God.  They  acknowledged  one 
Creator  and  Lord  of  the  Universe,  Allah  Taala,  the 
Most  High  God,  to  whom  all  other  deities  were  sub- 
ordinate. These  inferiors  were  called  Dahat,  the 
goddesses  ;  and  the  Greeks,  according  to  their  usual 
custom  of  resolving  the  religions  of  all  countries  into 
their  own,  stated  that  the  Arabs  worshiped  but  two 
deities,  Orotalt  and  Alilat,  names  synonymous  with 
Bacchus  and  Urania.* 

The  veneration  of  the  Arabs  for  the  stars  natu- 
rally gave  rise  to  the  pre-eminence  of  the  latter  di- 
vinity.    The  prayers  they  usually  addressed  to  the 

*  Koran.    Sale,  Pre.  Discourse. 


64       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

Supreme  ran  thus :  "  I  dedicate  myself  to  thy  ser- 
vice, O  God  !  Thou  hast  no  companion,  except  thy 
companion  of  whom,  thou  art  absolute  master,  and 
of  whatever  is  his."  When  they  sacrificed,  however, 
they  divided  their  offerings  between  the  supreme  and 
the  inferior  deities,  the  Koran  upbraiding  them  for 
giving  the  most  and  best  to  the  latter.  This  is  com- 
mon to  all  mankind,  for  the  Infinite  Creator  is  too  far 
removed  from  humanity  to  awaken  more  than  a  cold 
and  vague  appreciation.  They  erected  seven  temples 
to  the  seven  planets,  each  tribe  having  some  special 
deities.  Several  of  these  were  typified  by  large  rude 
stones.  Some  believed  neither  in  creation  past,  nor 
resurrection  to  come.  They  referred  the  origin 
of  things  to  nature,  and  their  dissolution  to  age. 
Others  received  both  ;  among  whom  were  those  who 
had  their  camel  tied  to  their  sepulchre,  and  allowed 
to  perish,  that  they  might  not  be  obliged  to  go  on 
foot.  Some  believed  in  metempsychosis  ;  and,  from 
the  blood  of  the  brain  of  the  dead,  a  bird  was  found 
called  Hamah,  which  once  in  a  hundred  years  visited 
the  sepulchre  ;  though  others  say  that  the  bird  is 
animated  by  the  soul  of  the  person  unjustly  slain, 
and  constantly  cries,  "  Give  me  to  drink,"  meaning  the 
murderer's  blood,  until  his  death  is  avenged,  when 
it  flies  away. 

The  stars  shining  through  the  clear  atmosphere  of 
the  desert,  by  their  corresponding  appearance  with 
certain  expected  events,  naturally  evoked  devotion. 
The  Arabs  were  early  acquainted  with  the  magi,  and 
were  not  loath  to  receive  portions  of  their  religion. 


God-Idea  of  Arabia.  65 

The  Hamyarites  were  devoted  to  the  sun,  and  had  a 
temple  at  Aden,  where  the  enthusiasm  of  the  devo- 
tee could  be  kindled  by  seeing  from  the  rocky  pre- 
cipice the  glorious  luminary  rising  like  an  orb  of  fire 
from  the  bosom  of  the  Indian  Ocean.*  The  moon, 
the  dog-star,  the  planets,  all  were  held  by  certain 
tribes  as  special  deities,  and  their  religious  festivities 
were  fixed  by  terms  of  the  equinox  and  solstice. 

The  stars  were  dispensers  of  the  weather,  and  in- 
habited by  angelic  beings  intermediate  between  man 
and  the  supreme  God.  Hence  the  divine  honors  to 
propitiate  their  favor. 

Of  these  siderial  divinities,  the  Koran  mentions 
three  who  were  worshiped  under  female  names,  —  Al 
Lattah,  Al  Uzzah,  and  Manah.  The  great  tribes  of 
Arabia  were  divided  in  the  worship  of  these.  Manah 
was  represented  by  a  rough  block  of  stone,  of  a  black 
color,  fixed  on  a  golden  pedestal.  The  Koran  spe- 
cifies five  other  deities, — Wadd,  worshiped  under  the 
human  figure  by  the  tribe  of  Kelb  ;  Sawah,  a  female 
deity  adored  by  the  tribe  of  Hamadan  ;  Yauk,  bear- 
ing resemblance  to  a  horse  ;  Masr,  that  of  an  eagle  ; 
and  Yaghuth,  a  popular  deity  of  Yemen,  that  of  a 
lion.  Hobal  was  a  famous  deity  whose  statue  was 
brought  from  Belka  in  Syria,  It  was  the  image  of  a 
man  cut  from  red  agate,  and  placed  on  the  top  of  the 
Kaaba  near  those  of  Abraham  and  Ishmael.  Having 
by  accident  lost  the  hand  which  held  the  divining 
arrows,  the  lost  member  was  supplied  by  one  of  gold. 
He  was  surrounded  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  infe- 

*  Hist.  Arabia.    Harper  &  Brotliers.    Vol.  i.,  p.  19. 
5 


66       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

rior  deities,  and  thus  the  devout  of  Mecca  were  en- 
abled to  worship  a  new  divinity  every  day  in  the 
year. 

The  Hanifites  worshiped  a  lump  of  dough  for  a 
god,  and  only  ate  it  in  cases  of  extreme  famine. 
Like  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  Arabians  had 
household  gods  who  received  their  last  adieux  when 
they  went  abroad,  and  their  first  salutation  when 
they  returned,  after  whom  they  named  their  chil- 
dren, and  gloried  in  being  counted  servants  and  vo- 
taries,* On  the  altar  of  these  gods  victims  were 
sacrificed,  and  some  were  stained  with  human 
gore,  t 

From  this  gross  fetichism  the  Arabians  were  ele- 
vated by  the  teachings  of  their  great  prophet.  The 
book  he  left  them  has  served  them  for  a  sacred  and 
infallible  oracle. 

The  Koran  was  neither  written  consecutively,  nor 
did  it  slowly  mature  from  a  vague  and  indeterminate 
text :  it  is  rather  a  complication  of  Mohammed  preach- 
ing, bearing  the  impress  of  his  daily  thoughts  and 
necessities.  The  daily  recitations  were  written  down 
by  his  disciples  on  skins,  the  shoulder-blades  of  sheep, 
or  polished  stones  ;  or  preserved  in  their  memory 
by  his  principal  followers,  who  were  called  bearers  of 
the  Koran.  Not  till  the  Caliphate  of  Abou  Bekr 
were  these  fragments  joined  together.  There  can 
be  no  dispute  that  the  compilation  was  made  in  good 
faith,  and  with  strict  honesty  of  purpose.  No 
attempt  at  reconciliation  was  made.     The  longest 

*  Sale.    Pre.  Dis.    Selden  de  Diis  Syriis.      f  Porphyry, 


The  Prophet  Mohammed.  67 

chapters  were  placed  first,  and  the  shortest  at  the 
end. 

A  second  revisal  was  made  under  the  Caliphate  of 
Othman.  Some  changes  in  spelling  were  made  ;  the 
text  fixed  according  to  the  dialect  of  Mecca ;  and 
then,  to  prevent  farther  discussion,  all  the  other  cop- 
ies were  collected  and  burned.  The  book  is  thus 
presented  as  a  record  of  the  sayings  of  the  prophet, 
and  by  its  glaring  contradictions  conclusively  proves 
that  it  has  not  met  with  any  important  change. 

Mohammed  is  a  subject  of  history.  His  advent  was 
so  recent  that  his  origin  has  not  been  lost  in  myths. 
The  Arab  is  free  from  paying  divine  honors  to  man, 
and  hence  delights  in  the  human  side  of  his  proph- 
et's character.  Nothing  is  concealed.  His  infirmi- 
ties and  humiliations  are  unflinchingly  recorded.  He 
begins  life  as  a  commission  merchant.  Could  the 
mythic  personages  of  the  past  be  brought  under  the 
same  blaze  of  historic  light,  how  rapidly  would  with- 
er the  grand  fables  by  which  they  are  enshrined !  Of 
his  morality,  the  severe  rules  of  a  European  must 
not  be  applied  to  a  child  of  the  desert.  He  was  up- 
right, just,  and  honest, /«r  excellence,  according  to  the 
Arabian  standard.  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion 
of  his  character  and  mission,  it  cannot  be  disputed 
that  his  religious  system  is  a  great  advance  on  that 
of  ancient  times.  It  was  such  an  advance  as  Christi- 
anity made  on  paganism,  and  equally  great.  It  was 
made  in  the  only  direction  the  Arabians  were  capa- 
ble of  going. 

The  Koran  breathes  the  loftiest  conceptions  of  the 


68       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

supreme  Deity.  God  brings  forth  the  living  out  of 
the  dead,  and  the  dead  out  of  the  living.  All  things 
in  heaven  and  on  earth  are  subject  to  him.  He 
justly  challenges  the  most  exalted  comparison.  He 
is  the  Mighty  and  the  Wise.*  He  sends  the  winds, 
and  raises  the  clouds,  and  spreads  them  over  the 
heavens  as  pleases  him.  "  It  is  God  who  created 
you  in  weakness,  and  after  weakness  has  given  you 
strength ;  and  after  strength  he  will  reduce  you  to 
weakness  and  gray  hairs :  he  createth  that  which  he 
pleaseth,  and  he  is  the  wise  and  the  powerful,  f  He 
is  a  witness  over  all  things,  and  knows  whatsoever 
occurs  in  heaven  or  earth.  He  forms  the  unseen 
party  to  the  most  private  discourse.  "  He  is  the 
first  and  the  last ;  the  manifest  and  the  hidden.  It 
is  he  who  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  six 

days,  and  then  ascended  to  his  throne He  is 

with  you  wherever  you  be He  is  the  kingdom 

of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  unto  God  shall  all 
things  return.  He  causeth  the  night  to  succeed  the 
day,  and  he  causeth  the  day  to  succeed  the  night  ; 
and  he  knows  the  innermost  part  of  men's  hearts."  if 
He  knoweth  the  past  and  the  future.  His  goodness 
is  boundless,  and  his  wrath  terrible.  His  mercy  is 
unlimited.  His  words,  laws,  and  sentences,  unutter- 
able.    He  is  the  only  giver  of  victory. 

"  God  is  one  God  :  he  begetteth  not,  neither  is  he 
begotten ;  and  there  is  not  any  one  like  unto  him."  § 

*  Koran,  p.  334.  t  lb.  p.  438. 

t  Sale's  Koran,  p.  332.  §  Koran,  chap.  112. 


The  God  of  the  Arab.  69 

Such  was  the  sublime  utterance  of  the  great 
prophet,  the  speech  of  a  wonderful  people,  who  gave 
voice  to  the  wild  solitude  of  the  desert,  and  saw,  in 
the  monotony  of  surrounding  nature,  the  reflection  of 
the  ONE  God. 


V. 


THE  GOD-IDEA  OF  THE  GREEKS  AND  ROMANS, 

DiEU  est  plus  que  la  totale  existence,  il  est  eu  meme  temps  I'absolu.  II 
est  I'ordre  ou  les  math^matiques,  la  m^taphysique,  la  logique  sont 
vraies :  il  est  le  lieu  de  I'id^al,  le  principe  vivant  du  bien,  du  beau,  et 
du  vrai.  Envisage  de  la  sorte,  Dieu  est  pleinement  et  sans  reserve ;  il 
est  et^mel  et  immuable,  sans  progrfes  ni  devenir. —  Ren  an. 

You  shall  come  to  the  knowledge  of  God  when  you  show  yourself  worthy 
of  it.  —  PoTHiNUS,  Bishop  of  Lyons. 

GAY,  imaginative,  plastic,  the  Grecians  seized  the 
mythologies  of  surrounding  races,  and,  out  of 
all,  wove  a  pattern,  fascinatingly  beautiful,  and  full 
of  golden  threads.  Their  ceremonies  and  rites  were 
thus  an  aggregation  of  fragments. 

They  had  no  sacred  books,  though  Minos  received 
his  laws  direct  from  Jupiter.  Their  early  poets  fur- 
nished a  substitute.  Homer  and  Hesiod  fixed  their 
theology.  The  dreams  of  poets  and  the  embellish- 
ments of  fancy  became  sound  orthodoxy.  Hesiod 
has  beautifully  expressed  the  aspirations  of  the  hu- 
man heart  for  happiness  ;  and,  not  finding  it  in  the 
present,  looked  to  the  remote  past,  to  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  for  the  golden  age.  Then  men  lived  like  gods ; 
and  there  were  neither  passions,  vices,  vexation,  nor 
toil.  Then  all  were  happy  in  companionship  with 
divine  beings.      The  earth  was  beautiful,  and  spon- 


The  Brazen  Age.  71 

taneously  yielded  an  abundant  harvest.  Man  was 
afflicted  with  none  of  the  infirmities  of  age ;  and, 
when  called  to  a  higher  sphere,  he  simply  slumbered. 

Then  followed  the  silver  age,  when  men's  lives 
were  shortened  because  of  their  neglect  of  the  gods, 
and  injustice  towards  each  other. 

Then  came  the  brazen  of  turbulence  and  insin- 
cerity. The  present  is  the  iron  age,  still  more  de- 
generate, the  Cali  Yug  of  the  Hindoo,  when  the  life 
of  man  is  shortened  to  a  span,  and  all  manner  of 
crimes,  violence,  fraud,  and  disease,  everywhere 
abound.  Homer  assigns  similar  attributes  to  the 
gods  as  Hesiod.  They  are  actuated  by  human  de- 
sires, passions,  and  motives,  and  are  admirable  far 
more  for  superior  power  than  moral  excellence.  In 
their  system,  a  direct  supernatural  agency  guides 
and  controls  all  things,  from  the  greatest  to  the 
smallest. 

Every  thought  of  the  poet  and  philosopher  was 
received  by  inspiration  :  even  to  laugh  was  to  become 
subject  to  the  influence  of  a  god.  Between  gods  and 
men  there  was  a  living  intercourse.  They  often  vis- 
ited cities  disguised  as  travelers.  Gods  from  other 
countries  were  constantly  being  adopted  into  the 
Greek  Pantheon,  All  their  deities  bear  traces  of  a 
foreign  origin,  and  the  stories  told  of  them  are  the 
mixed  legends  of  various  nations.  They  adopted  the 
seven  planetary  spirits  of  the  Egyptians  and  Hindoos, 
—  Apollo  the  sun,  Diana  the  moon,  Jupiter,  Saturn, 
Mars,  Mercury,  and  Venus,  —  and  consecrated  suc- 
cessive days  to  them.     The  seventh  day  was  sacred 


72       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

to  Saturn  from  time  immemorial :  Hesiod  and  Homer 
call  it  the  holy  day, 

Zeus,  or  Jupiter,  was  differently  represented'  at 
different  periods.  As  the  supreme  god,  his  aspect 
varies  with  the  foreign  elements  introduced.  He- 
siod and  Homer  describe  him  as  the  supreme  creator 
of  heaven,  earth,  and  sea ;  the  father  of  the  gods  and 
men  ;  omnipotent  to  all  except  the  unchanging  de- 
crees of  the  Fates.  He  never  appears  on  the  stage 
of  human  affairs,  being  so  exalted  that  there  must 
be  a  mediator  between  him  and  man.  The  transpo- 
sition of  Indra  from  the  Hindoo  to  the  Greek  Pan- 
theon is  indicated  by  the  conception  of  Jupiter  as 
the  son  of  Ether,  armed  with  a  thunderbolt,  sur- 
rounded by  the  moon  and  stars.  He  is  in  this  con- 
ception married  to  his  sister  Juno,  who  represents 
the  air,  and  had  Iris,  the  rainbow,  for  an  attendant. 

Minerva  was  goddess  of  wisdom,  presiding  over 
the  sciences,  arts,  poetry,  and  philosophy. 

Bacchus  was  god  of  wine  and  the  vintage. 

Ceres  was  the  goddess  of  the  harvest ;  Mercury, 
of  orators  and  thieves  ;  Pan,  of  generation  ;  Venus, 
goddess  of  beauty  and  pleasure  ;  Cupid,  god  of  love. 

Apollo  was  the  central  figure  in  Grecian  mythology, 
and  was  adored  as  the  god  of  light,  eloquence,  medi- 
cine, and  prophecy. 

The  theology  of  Greece  and  Rome  was  a  vast  accu- 
mulation, which  it  is  tedious  to  explore,  and  foreign 
to  our  purpose.  It  is  replete  with  vague  strivings 
and  wandering  flights  of  the  imagination,  like  the 
crude  conjecturings  of  children  ;  the  essence  of  the 


Doctrines  of  Orpheus,  73 

poetry  of  Nature.  To  those  antique  men,  Nature 
was  a  living,  thinking,  acting  being,  and  they  were 
children  prattling  at  her  breast.  We  can  amuse 
ourselves  by  unraveling  the  web  of  fable,  but  let  us 
not  treat  lightly  what  to  them  was  purest  truth. 

The  popular  theology  was  only  the  external  garb. 
The  philosophers  passed  through  it,  and  sought  the 
deep,  underlying  principles  of  nature. 

To  them  we  turn  for  the  solution  of  the  grand 
problem  of  creation.  Perhaps  they  make  a  final 
and  conclusive  statement;  perhapsonly  what,  at  best, 
are  personal  opinions. 

The  earliest  of  the  Grecian  teachers  was  Orpheus, 
who  flourished  about  1200  B.  C.  He  taught  that 
there  was  one  invisible  God,  who  contained  within 
himself  the  germ  of  all  things,  and  was  alternately 
active  and  passive.  In  his  active  state,  successive 
grades  of  beings  emanated  from  him  by  inherent 
necessity,  all  of  whom  in  different  degrees  partook 
of  his  divine  nature,  and  ultimately  returned  to 
him. 

The  universe  would  be  destroyed  by  fire,  and  re- 
newed. "  The  empyrean,  the  deep  tartarus,  the 
earth,  the  ocean,  the  immortal  gods  and  goddesses, 
all  that  is,  all  that  has  been,  and  all  that  will  be,  was 
originally  contained  in  the  fruitful  bosom  of  Zeus. 
He  is  the  first  and  the  last,  the  beginning  and  the 
end.  All  beings  derive  their  origin  from  him.  There 
is  only  one  power,  one  only  Lord,  one  universal 
king." 

Thales  taught  about  636  B.  C.     He  is  justly  con- 


74       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

sidered  as  the  father  of  Greek  speculation.  Only- 
fragments  of  his  doctrines  remain,  but  enough  to 
show  that  from  them  was  woven  the  variegated  and 
splendid  web  of  Hellenic  philosophy. 

He  said,  "  The  principle  of  all  things  is  water." 
This  proposition  will  undoubtedly  bring  a  smile  by 
its  apparent  absurdity,  but  it  probably  possessed  a 
deep  meaning  to  him.  He  strove  to  find  the  primary 
substance,  the  one  principle  from  which  all  things 
are  evolved.  He  saw  with  his  penetrating  glance 
that  existences  are  but  modes,  and  that  these  modes 
undergo  constant  transformations.  Beneath  all  this 
fluctuating  external,  he  sought  an  unchanging  in- 
ternal power.  Water  is  the  most  universal  ele- 
ment. It  fills  the  earth,  seems  generated  in  the  at- 
mosphere, and  life  itself  appears  to  be  the  direct 
product  of  moisture  and  warmth.  Hence  he,  mis- 
guided by  appearance,  maintained  that  water  was 
the  beginning  of  all  things.  Cicero  has  no  right  to 
interpret  this  proposition  by  supposing  Thales  "  held 
water  to  be  the  beginning  of  things,  but  that  God 
was  the  mind  which  created  things  out  of  water." 
Such  an  interpretation  is  the  growth  of  later  times. 
Aristotle  *  expressly  denies  that  the  early  physicists 
made  any  distinction  between  matter  and  its  moving 
cause,  and  adds  that  Anaxagoras  was  the  first  who 
arrived  at  the  idea  of  a  formative  intelligence.  Thales 
could  not  have  had  any  idea  of  such  creative  power. 
He  believed  in  the  gods  and  generation  of  the  gods  ; 
but  they,  like  all  things  else,  had  their  origin  in 
♦  Metaph.  i.  3. 


speculations  of  Anaximenes,  75 

water.  Beyond  that  powerful  element  he  saw  noth- 
ing. By  it  he  sought  to  unitize  the  diverse  phenom- 
ena of  nature. 

Anax  I MENES  followed  and  developed  th|3  doctrines 
of  his  master,  Thales.*  He  pursued  the  same  meth- 
od, but  arrived  at  different  results.  To  him,  water 
was  not  the  most  significant  element.  He  felt  with- 
in him  something,  he  knew  not  what  or  wherefore, 
but  which  was  ever  present.  This  he  called  his  life, 
and  life  he  believed  to  be  air.  There  was  also,  with- 
out, an  invisible  but  ever-present  air.  The  air  with- 
in him  was  individualized  life  ;  but  was  it  not  a  part 
of  that  without  .-•  Then  was  not  this  external  air  the 
universal  life .-'  was  it  not  the  beginning  of  things  .-' 
He  met  confirmations  of  his  ideas.  The  earth  like 
a  broad  leaf  rested  upon  it.  All  things  were  pro- 
duced from  it,  and  all  were  resolved  back  into  it. 
When  we  breathe,  we  inhale  a  portion  of  this  univer- 
sal life.  The  universe  became,  to  this  philosopher, 
a  living,  breathing  structure.  It  was  an  advance  on 
the  teachings  of  Thales,  and  even  scientists  of  to-day 
repeat  and  prove  its  proposition.  From  air  all  things 
are  created,  and  back  to  air  all  things  are  resolved.f 
Air  answers  a  better  purpose  as  a  universal  element 
than  water.  To  Anaxagoras  and  his  followers,  it 
stood  for  God ;  though  any  idea  of  such  an  intelli- 
gence they  had  not  conceived.  Air  was  their  high- 
est ideal. 

Diogenes,  of  Apollonia,  flourished  about  460  B.  C. 

*  Ritter.  f  Liebig.    Chemical  Lectures.    Dumas. 


76       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

He  followed  the  preceding,  but  extended  his  spec- 
ulations. He  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  analogy 
between  the  soul,  or  life,  and  the  air  ;  and  he  pushed 
this  to  its  limits.  What  constitutes  air,  the  creative 
origin  of  all  things  ?  Its  life.  It  has  a  soul  higher 
than  itself,  and  must  consequently  be  prior  in  point 
of  time :  it  must  be  the  primordial  element  sought. 
The  universe  is  a  living  creation,  self,  evolved  by 
its  own  vitality. 

Thus  obscurely  is  expressed  the  first  dim  concep- 
tion of  a  creative  cause.  Air  as  life  did  not  neces- 
sarily possess  intelligence.  Diogenes  endowed  it 
with  thought,  "It  knows  much,"  he  said ;  "for,  with- 
out reason,  it  would  be  impossible  for  all  to  be 
arranged  duly  and  proportionally ;  and  whatever 
objects  we  consider  will  be  found  to  be  arranged  and 
ordered  in  the  best  and  most  beautiful  manner,"  As 
order  can  only  originate  in  intelligence,  there  must 
be  a  soul.  This  was  a  great  advance ;  but  how  child- 
ish the  application  he  made  of  it !  As  air  gives  us 
life  by  respiration,  worlds  and  the  universe  must 
respire.  The  attraction  of  moisture  to  the  sun,  or 
iron  to  the  magnet,  was  a  kind  of  respiration,  Man's 
superiority  over  brutes  is  caused  by  his  erect  posture, 
enabling  him  to  breath  a  purer  air  than  animals 
whose  heads  are  near  the  ground. 

Thus  step  by  step  did  these  oldest  of  philosophers 
painfully  tread  the  misty  uncertainty,  and  approach 
the  conception  of  a  universal  soul.  It  was  reached 
by  means  of  a  mistaken  notion  that  the  breath  was 
the  producer  of  life,  and  hence  was,  itself,  living  ;  a 


speculations  of  Anaximander,  77 

notion  growing  out  of  superficial  observation,  and  a 
childish  appreciation  of  nature.* 

Anaximander,  of  Miletus,  taught  that  "  the  Infi- 
nite is  the  source  of  all  things,"  What  he  meant  by 
the  term  "  infinite,"  we  cannot  determine  ;  and  even 
the  ancients  themselves  were  equally  in  the  dark. 
We  can  readily  see  how  he  arrived  at  such  a  conclu- 
sion if  we  place  ourselves  in  his  position.  He  was  a 
mathematician,  and  as  such  delighted  in  the  purely 
abstract.  Water,  he  argued,  could  not  be  the  all ;  for 
it  was  a  thing,  and  a  thing  cannot  be  all  things. 
Only  the  unlimited  All  could  supply  the  conditions. 
The  production  of  individual  things  resulted  from 
the  motion  of  the  Infinite. 

This  Infinite  is  one,  yet  all.  Within  it  is  com- 
prised the  multiplicity  of  elements,  which  need  only 
separation  to  appear  as  distinct  phenomena.  The 
decomposition  of  the  Infinite  is  creation  ;  and  this  is 
the  result  of  motion.  "  He  regarded  the  Infinite  as 
a  being  in  a  constant  state  of  incipiency,  —  which, 
however,  is  nothing  but  a  constant  secutive  and  con- 
cretion of  immutable  elements  ;  so  that  we  might 
Well  say  the  parts  of  the  whole  are  ever  changing, 
while  the  whole  is  unchangeable." 

Lewes  remarks,  "  The  idea  of  elevating  an  abstrac- 
tion into  a  being  —  the  origin  of  all  things  —  is  base- 
less enough.  It  is  as  if  we  were  to  say,  there  are 
numbers  one,  two,  three,  four,  twenty,  eighty,  one 

*  Ritter.  This  idea  of  the  air  being  endowed  with  life  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  Bible  :  "And  God  breathed  in  his  nostrils,  and 
he  became  a  living  soul." 


T^       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

hundred  ;  but  there  is  also  number  in  the  abstract, 
of  which  these  individual  numbers  are  but  concrete 
realization  :  without  number  there  will  be  no  num- 
bers. Yet  so  difficult  is  it  for  the  human  mind  to 
divest  itself  of  its  own  abstractions,  and  to  consider 
them  as  no  more  than  as  abstractions,  that  this  error 
lies  at  the  root  of  the  majority  of  philosophical  sys- 
tems." *  In  modern  times  the  doctrine  of  this  phi- 
losopher has  been  revived  by  Hegel,  who  has  pnly 
changed  the  words  by  which  it  is  expressed. 

Anaximander's  conception  was  not  ideal.  His 
"  All  Things  "  was  purely  physical.  It  was  the  de- 
scription of  a  fact,  rather  than  the  statement  of  a 
principle.  His  creation  had  existence,  but  not  infi- 
nite intelligence.  He  advanced  a  step,  but  the  latter 
idea  was  to  him  unknown. 

Pythagoras  flourished  about  500  B.  C.f  He  is 
classed  with  the  founders  of  mathematics.  His  sci- 
entific skill  has  been  grossly  exaggerated,  as  has 
been  every  portion  of  his  life.  He  was  called  a 
worker  of  miracles,  a  teacher  having  more  than  hu- 
man wisdom  ;  and  his  birth  was  referred  to  a  miracu- 
lous interposition  of  the  gods.  These  fables  show  in 
what  high  estimation  he  was  held  by  his  contempo- 
raries. 

He  taught  in  secret,  and,  like  Christ,  never  wrote. 
His  method  was  purely  deductive,  and  deigned  only 
to  consider  the  most  refined  abstractions  ;  and  hence 
his  school  has  been  styled  the  mathematical.     The 

*  Biog.  Hist.  Phil. 

\  A  very  uncertain  date.    See  Anthon's  Class.  Diet,  p.  1 153. 


speculations  of  Anaximander.  79 

greatest  mathematicians  and  astronomers  of  anti- 
quity were  among  his  followers.  With  our  present 
clear  and  positive  knowledge  of  things,  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  the  doctrines  of  these  early  sages,  who 
thought  intently,  but  seeking  to  unravel  the  myste- 
rious web  of  creation  by  an  evolution  from  their  own 
minds,  rather  than  by  observing  facts,  were  entirely 
befogged.  They  were  children  only,  and  were  con- 
tent with  the  same  reasoning  which  contents  a  child. 
Pythagoras  taught  that  numbers  were  the  principle 
of  things."  * 

Anaximander  saw  beyond  this,  that  numbers  were 
not  final.  In  attributes  and  position,  they  are  con- 
stantly changing.  They  are  variable,  while  the  eter- 
nal cause  cannot  vary.  Pythagoras  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  such  an  unvarying  existence,  and  called  it 
number.  An  individual  may  change  its  position  and 
attributes,  but  its  numerical  existence  cannot  be  de- 
stroyed. It  can  never  be  less  than  one.  Resolved 
into  the  minutest  particles,  each  particle  is  one.  Nu- 
merical existence,  hence,  is  the  only  invariable  exist- 
ence, and  all  things  are  but  the  copies  of  numbers. 
Analogies  cannot  be  carried  farther  than  this  in  re- 
lation to  finite  things,  nor  to  the  Infinite.  The  Infi- 
nite, therefore,  must  be  one.  One  is  the  absolute 
number.  It  exists  in  and  for  itself.  All  others  are 
but  numerical  relations  of  one.  As  one  contains  all 
other  numbers,  it  contains  the  element  of  the  whole 
world.  One  must  be  the  beginning  of  all  things  ;  for, 
with  whatever  we  commence,  we  must  start  with 

one. 

*  Aristotle,  Metaph.,  i.  6. 


8o       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  whole  system  rests  on  a 
verbal  quibble  ;  but  it  was  a  quibble  too  profound  for 
detection  by  the  greatest  of  the  Greeks.  Unac- 
quainted with  any  other  language,  they  fell  into  the 
natural  mistake  of  making  distinctions  of  words  cor- 
respond to  distinctions  of  things,  and  then  reasoning 
from  the  words  instead  of  the  things. 

What  Anaximander  calls  the  Infinite,  Pythagoras 
calls  the  One.  Neither  recognized  mind  as  an  attri- 
bute of  the  Infinite.  The  latter  has  been  supposed 
to  have  taught  that  there  was  a  "  soul  of  the  world," 
but  no  solid  ground  exists  for  such  an  opinion.  This 
is  an  idea  of  much  later  date.  His  doctrine  of  the 
soul  refutes  it.  He  regarded  mind  as  a  phenom- 
enon. It  is  a  self-moving  monad,  which  in  the  planet 
or  the  brute  loses  its  intelligence.  If  such  concep- 
tions were  held  of  finite  mind,  there  could  have  been 
no  idea  of  infinite  intelligence.  The  interpretation 
given  by  Cicero,  that  Pythagoras  conceived  God  to 
be  the  all-prevading  soul  of  nature,  of  which  human 
souls  were  portions,  is  refuted  by  Aristotle.  *  The 
Pythagorean  God  was  the  number  one,  the  infinite 
measure  of  all  other  numbers. 

Xenophanes,  contemplating  the  blue  arch  above 
him,  inclosing  the  world,  unchangeable  and  eternal, 
pronounced  the  wonderful  sentence,  "  The  Infinite  is 
a  sphere."  There  was  no  anthropomorphism  in  his 
system.  He  was  pantheistic.  The  universe  was 
self-moving,  self-existing. 

Parmenides  taught  that  there  was  but  one  being. 
*  Metaph.,  b.  L,  chap.  5. 


speculations  of  Heraclitus.  8i 

Non-being  was  impossible.  Hence  the  onfc  is  all 
existence,  neither  born  nor  dying. 

Zeno  was  born  about  5cxd  B.  C,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  sages  of  antiquity.  He  was  the 
inventor  of  that  logic  renowned  as  dialectics,  so  ably 
handled  by  Socrates  and  Plato.  His  doctrines  may 
be  thus  briefly  stated  :  *  "  There  is  but  one  being 
existing  necessarily  indivisible  and  infinite.  To  sup- 
pose that  the  one  is  divisible,  is  to  suppose  it  finite. 
If  divisible,  it  must  be  infinitely  divisible.  But  sup- 
pose two  things  to  exist,  then  there  must  necessarily 
be  an  interval  between  these  two  ;  something  sepa- 
rating and  limiting  them.  What  is  that  something } 
It  is  some  other  thing.  But  then,  if  not  the  same 
thing,  it  must  be  also  separated  and  limited  ;  and  so 
on  ad  iiifinitum.  Thus  only  one  thing  can  exist  as 
the  substratum  for  all  manifold  appearances." 

Heraclitus  declared  the  Infinite  One  to  be  fire. 
To  him  it  was  the  type  of  spontaneous  force  and 
motion.  He  says,  "  The  world  was  made  neither 
by  the  gods  nor  man  ;  and  it  was  and  is  and  ever 
shall  be  an  ever-living  fire,  in  due  measure  self-en- 
kindling, and  in  due  measure  self-extinguished." 
This  is  only  a  modification  of  the  previous  systems. 
The  water  of  Thales,  and  air  of  Anaximenes,  is  the 
fire  of  Heraclitus.  Fire  ever  springing  into  flames, 
and  passing  into  smoke  and  ashes,  is  a  beautiful  and 
striking  emblem  of  the  ebb  and  flow  of  being ;  the 
restless  changing  flux  of  things  which  never  are,  but 
always  becoming.     This  flux  and  reflux,  he  finely  ex- 

*  Lewes. 
6 


82       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

presses  in  his  symbol  of  a  river  :  "  No  one  has  ever 
been  twice  on  the  same  stream,  for  different  waters 
are  constantly  flowing  down  :  it  dissipates  its  waters 
and  gathers  them  again,  it  approaches  and  recedes, 
it  overflows  and  falls,"  "  All  is  motion  :  there  is  no 
rest  or  quietude.  As  all  life  is  change,  and  change 
is  strife,  the  strife  between  opposite  tendencies  is  the 
parent  of  all  things."  He  was  the  first  to  teach  the 
inherent  vitality  of  nature  ;  that,  while  matter  and  its 
forms  underwent  endless  mutations,  supreme  har- 
mony ruled  over  all,  and  the  Infinite  Being  remained 
changeless  and  undisturbed. 

Anaxagoras  made  some  remarkable  speculations 
on  the  origin  of  things,  and  anticipated  by  glimpses, 
as  it  were,  many  of  the  generalizations  of  modern 
science.  He  held,  that,  so  far  from  the  all  being  the 
one,  it  was  the  many.  In  the  beginning  the  many 
were  unmixed.  What  was  to  change  their  condition, 
and  from  their  isolation  evolve  a  harmonious  state  ? 
That  power  he  declares  to  be  intelligence,  the  mov- 
ing force  of  the  universe.  He  rejected  fate,  and  de- 
clared chance  to  be  the  cause  unrecognized  by  hu- 
man reasoning.  In  a  passage  preserved  by  Simpli- 
cius,  he  says,  "  Intelligence  is  infinite  and  auto- 
cratic :  it  is  mixed"  up  with  nothing,  but  exists  alone 
in  and  for  itself  Were  it  otherwise,  were  it  mixed 
up  with  anything,  it  would  partake  of  the  nature  of 
all  things  ;  for  in  all  these  is  a  part  of  all,  and  so 
that  which  is  mixed  with  intelligence  would  prevent 
it  from  exercising  power  over  all  things."  We  here 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  modern  idea  of  Deity  acting 


speculations  of  Empedocles.  83 

through  fixed  and  undeviating  laws  on  matter,  but 
not  mixing  otherwise  with  the  matter  acted  on. 

Again  he  says,  "Intelligence  is  of  all  things  the 
subtlest  and  purest,  and  has  entire  knowledge  of 
all.  Everything  which  has  a  soul,  whether  great 
or  small,  is  governed  by  intelligence.  Intelligence 
knows  all  things  separated ;  and  the  things  that 
were,  and  those  which  now  are,  and  those  which  will 
be,  —  all  are  arranged  by  intelligence."  In  this  pas- 
sage, he  anticipates,  by  hundreds  of  years,  the  ideas 
of  his  age.  The  infinite  intelligence  not  only  knows, 
but  acts.  There  is  only  one  intelligence,  there  can 
be  but  one ;  but  of  substances  there  must  be  many. 
It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  intelli- 
gence bore  no  resemblance  to  human  intelligence. 
It  was  an  abstract  term,  and  might  with  equal  pro- 
priety have  been  called  number,  or  the  one. 

Empedocles,  born  at-Agrigentum  444  B.  C,  re- 
sembled Pythagoras  in  the  manner  in  which  fable 
has  surrounded  his  name.  To  him  are  ascribed  the 
same  august  demeanor  and  power  over  the  laws  of 
nature.  He  proclaimed  himself  a  god,  and  was  so 
received  by  the  citizens  of  a  city  at  the  time  the  rival 
in  arts  and, intelligence  of  Syracuse.  He  was  trans- 
lated, amid  a  flood  of  great  effulgence,  during  a 
sacred  festival.  Like  all  the  sages  of  antiquity,  he 
traveled  in  the  East,  and  there  learned  the  potent 
secrets  of  medicine,  magic,  and  the  wonderful  art  of 
prophecy. 

Each  generation  of  philosophers  rriade  some 
advance  on  their  predecessors,  and  Empedocles  took 


84       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

long  strides  ahead.  Of  the  divine  nature,  the  infi- 
nite All,  he  reasoned  in  the  same  manner  we  reason 
to-day.  He  maintained  that  like  could  only  be 
known  to  like.  By  each  element  we  learn  the 
qualities  of  itself:  as  of  fire,  through  fire ;  of  strife 
and  love,  through  strife  and  love.  Hence  the  divine 
can  only  be  known  through  divine  reason.  That  the 
divine  is  recognized  by  man,  is  proof  that  the  divine 
exists.  Knowledge  and  existence  mutually  imply 
each  other.  *  He  declared  God  to  be  destitute  of 
all  organs. 

"  He  is  wholly  and  perfectly  mind  ineffable,  holy, 
With  rapid  and  swift  glancing  thought  pervading  the  whole 
world." 

Of  the  creation,  he  beautifully  said,  — 

"  Fools, 
Who  think  aught  can  begin  to  be  which  formerly  was  not. 
Or  that  aught  that  is  can  perish  and  utterly  decay. 
Another  truth  I  now  unfold.    No  natural  birth 
Is  there  of  mortal  things,  nor  death  destructive  final : 
Nothing  is  there  but  a  mingling,  and  then  a  separation  of  the 

mingled, 
Which  are  called  a  birth  and  death  by  ignorant  mortals." 

This  creation,  by  mingling,  presupposed  certain 
primary  elements,  which  were  the  material  mingled. 
These  elements  were  four  in  number, — earth,  air,  fire, 
and  water.  Out  of  these,  all  things  were  created. 
The  formative  power  was  love.  Of  course  there 
must  be  an  antagonist  to  produce  separation.  This 
*  Lewes. 


speculations  of  Democrites,  85 

was  hate.  Harmony  was  the  perfect  state  ;  discord 
the  imperfect.  Love  was  the  creative,  hate  the  de- 
structive, principle. 

"  All  the  members  of  God  war  together,  one  after 
the  other." 

His  idea  of  God,  of  the  One,  was  that  of  a  "  sphere 
in  the  bosom  of  harmony,  fixed,  in  calm  rest,  gladly 
rejoicing."  This  sphere  of  love  exists  above  and 
around  the  world.  Hate  has  power  over  only  the 
smaller  portion  of  existence,  only  over  those  parts 
which  become  disconnected  from  the  whole. 

Democrites,  equally  famous  as  the  preceding, 
uttered  some  remarkable  generalizations  on  creation. 
He  rejected  the  preceding  theories,  and  declared 
atoms,  invisible,  intangible,  and  indivisible,  to  be 
the  primary  elements  ;  thus  anticipating,  by  a  dream, 
one  of  the  highest  scientific  conceptions  of  the  pres- 
ent. The  formation  of  things  he  attributed  to  des- 
tiny, but  it  is  doubtful  if  he  assigned  intelligence  to 
that  destiny.  The  attempts  to  prove  that  he  believed 
in  an  intelligence  somewhat  similar  to  the  Anaxago- 
rian  doctrine  are  not  satisfactory ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  idea  of  a  formative  intelligence,  held  by  all 
these  early  philosophers,  has  been  over-drawn,  and 
received  an  anthropomorphitic  tinge  from  translators 
and  commentators. 

We  may  smile  at  the  boldness  with  which  they 
rushed  to  the  explanation  of  nature's  profoundest 
secrets,  but  we  cannot  doubt  their  sincerity.  They 
possessed  few  facts,  and  they  did  not  use  those  they 
possessed.     They  trusted  to  intuition.    The  Greek 


86       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

mind,  like  that  of  a  child,  was  deductive  rather  than 
inductive.  It  struck  at  first  at  primary  principles. 
Not  content  with  the  life  long-toil  of  the  accumula- 
.  tion  of  facts,  it  made  a  direct  dash  at  the  underlying 
principles.  As  from  generation  to  generation  we 
observe  its  progress,  it  never  throws  off  this  incubus, 
but  is  filtered  by  its  scorn  of  the  primary  instru- 
ments of  thought,  —  facts.  The  Greeks  are  diligent 
inquirers,  and  merit  the  praise  which  has  been  be- 
stowed upon  them ;  but,  the  moment  they  philoso- 
phized, they  cast  facts  aside.  The  daring  strides  they 
made  widened  the  bounds  of  human  thought,  and,  by 
the  constant  mental  warfare  they  created,  make  these 
sages,  scattered  along  a  thousand  years,  shine  in  a 
splendid  galaxy  across  the  millenniums  since  they 
passed  away.  From  the  obscure  wordings  of  their 
doctrines,  we  may  be  wide  of  their  meaning  in  our 
translations.  Of  this  much  we  are  certain :  the 
early  sages  scorned  the  idea  of  a  god  with  human 
qualities.  They  probably  had  no  conception  of  such 
a  being.  The  idea  of  an  infinite  and  all-pervading 
cause  existed  in  their  minds.  Like  the  child,  they 
asked  "Why.?"  "How.?"  "Wherefore.?"  They 
found  no  answer  to  the  indefinable  thoughts  which 
existed  inarticulate  in  their  minds.  The  water  of 
Thales,  air  of  Anaximenes,  the  number  of  Pythago- 
ras, meant  more  than  the  words  express.  They  stand 
for  a  great,  unutterable  thought.  They  stand  for  a 
struggle  of  a  great  soul  endeavoring  to  express  its 
half-formed,  dimly  seen  ideas.  Let  us  not  smile,  nor 
judge  them,  unless  we  first  pass  the  gulf  which  di- 


Socrates.  87 

vides  the  clear  and  precise  thought  of  the  present 
from  the  half-articulate  efforts  of  olden  time. 

We  now  approach  Socrates,  the  most  renowned 
philosopher  of  Greece.  His  ideas  of  Deity,  as  ex- 
pressed by  Xenophon,*  were  as  follows  : — 

"  I  will  now  relate  the  manner  in  which  I  once 
heard  Socrates  discoursing  with  Aristodemus,  sur- 
named  the  Little,  concerning  the  Deity  ;  for  observ- 
ing that  he  neither  prayed  nor  sacrificed  to  the  gods, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  ridiculed  and  laughed  at  those 
who  did,  he  said  to  him,  — 

" '  Tell  me,  Aristodemus,  is  there  any  man  whom 
you  admire  on  account  of  his  merit  ? '  Aristodemus 
having  answered,  '  Many,'  — '  Name  some  of  them,  I 
pray  you.' — '  I  admire,'  said  Aristodemus, '  Homer  for 
his  Epic  poetry,  Melanippides  for  his  dithyrambics, 
Sophocles  for  tragedy,  Polycetus  for  statuary,  and 
Zeuxis  for  painting.' 

" '  But  which  seems  to  you  most  worthy  of  admira- 
tion, Aristodemus,  —  the  artist  who  forms  images 
void  of  motion  and  intelligence,  or  one  who  hath  the 
skill  to  produce  animals  that  are  endued  not  only  with 
activity,  but  understanding .? '  — '  The  latter,  there 
can  be  no  doubt,'  replied  Aristodemus ;  'provided  the 
production  was  not  the  effect  of  chance,  but  of  wis- 
dom and  contrivance,'  — '  But  since  there  are  many 
things,  some  of  which  we  can  easily  see  the  use  of, 
,  while  we  cannot  say  of  others  to  what  purpose  they 
were  produced,  —  which  of  these,  Aristodemus,  do 
you  suppose  the  work  of  wisdom  ,<* '  —  *  It  should  seem 

*  Memorabilia,  i,  4,  as  rendered  by  Lewes. 


88       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

the  most  reasonable  to  affirm  it  of  those  whose  fitness 
and  utihty  are  so  evidently  apparent.' 

" '  But  it  is  evidently  apparent  that  He  who  at  the 
beginning  made  man  endued  him  with  senses  be- 
cause they  were  good  for  him  ;  eyes,  wherewith  to 
behold  whatever  was  visible  ;  and  ears,  to  hear  what- 
ever was  to  be  heard ;  for  say,  Aristodemus,  to  what 
purpose  should  odors  be  prepared  if  the  sense  of 
smelling  had  been  denied  ?  or  why  the  distinctions 
of  bitter  and  sweet,  of  savory  and  unsavory,  unless  a 
palate  had  been  likewise  given,  conveniently  placed, 
to  arbitrate  between  them,  and  declare  the  difference  ? 
Is  not  that  Providence,  Aristodemus,  in  a  most  emi- 
nent manner  conspicuous,  which,  because  the  eye  of 
man  is  so  delicate  in  its  contexture,  hath  therefore 
prepared  eyelids  like  doors,  whereby  to  secure  it, 
which  extend  of  themselves  whenever  it  is  needful, 
and  again  close  when  sleep  approaches  ?  Are  not 
these  eyelids  provided,  as  it  were,  with  a  fence  on  the 
edge  of  them,  to  keep  off  the  wind,  and  guard  the 
eye  ?  Even  the  eyebrow  itself  is  not  without  its 
office,  but,  as  a  pent-house,  is  prepared  to  turn  off  the 
sweat,  which,  falling  from  the  forehead,  might  enter 
and  annoy  that  no  less  tender  than  astonishing  part 
of  us.  Is  it  not  to  be  admired  that  the  ears  should 
take  in  sounds  of  every  sort,  and  yet  are  not  too 
much  filled  by  them ;  that  the  fore-teeth  of  the 
animal  should  be  formed  in  such  a  manner  as  is  evi- 
dently best  suited  for  the  cutting  of  its  food,  as  those 
on  the  side  for  grinding  it  to  pieces  ;  that  the 
mouth,  through  which  this  food  is  conveyed,  should 


Socrates.  89 

be  placed  so  near  the  nose  and  eyes  as  to  prevent 
the  passing  unnoticed  whatever  is  unfit  for  nourish- 
ment ;  while  Nature,  on  the  contrary,  hath  set  at  a 
distance,  and  concealed  from  the  senses,  all  that  might 
disgust  or  any  way  offend  them  ?  And  canst  thou 
still  doubt,  Aristodemus,  whether  a  disposition  of 
parts  like  this  should  be  the  work  of  chance,  or  of 
wisdom  and  contrivance ? '  —  'I  have  no  longer  any 
doubt,'  replied  Aristodemus  ;  '  and,  indeed,  the  more 
I  consider  it,  the  more  evident  it  appears  to  me  that 
man  must  be  the  masterpiece  of  some  great  artificer ; 
carrying  along  with  it  infinite  marks  of  the  love  and 
favor  of  Him  who  hath  thus  formed  it.' 

"'And  what  thinkest  thou,  Aristodemus,  of  that  de- 
sire in  the  individual  which  leads  to  the  continuance 
of  the  species  ;  of  that  tenderness  and  affection  in 
the  female  towards  her  young,  so  necessary  for  its 
preservation ;  of  that  unrequited  love  of  life,  and 
dread  of  dissolution,  which  take  such  strong  posses- 
sion of  us  from  the  moment  we  begin  to  be  ? '  —  'I 
think  of  them,'  answered  Aristodemus,  *  as  so  many 
regular  operations  of  the  same  great  arid  wise  Artist 
deliberately  determining  to  preserve  what  he  hath 
made.' 

" '  But  farther  (unless  thou  desirest  to  ask  me  ques- 
tions), seeing,  Aristodemus,  thou  thyself  art  con- 
scious of  reason  and  intelligence,  supposest  thou 
there  is  no  intelligence  elsewhere  ?  Thou  knowest 
thy  body  to  be  a  small  part  of  that  wide  extended 
earth  which  thou  everywhere  beholdest :  the  mois- 
ture contained  in  it,  thou  also  knowest  to  be  a  small 


90       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

portion  of  that  mighty  mass  of  waters,  whereof  seas 
themselves  are  but  a  part,  while  the  rest  of  the  ele- 
ments contribute  out  of  their  abundance  to  thy  for- 
mation. It  is  the  soul  then,  alone,  that  intellectual 
part  of  us,  which  is  come  to  thee  by  some  lucky 
chance,  from  I  know  not  where.  If  so,  there  is  in- 
deed no  intelligence  elsewhere ;  and  we  must  be 
forced  to  confess,  that  this  stupendous  universe,  with 
all  the  various  bodies  contained  therein,  —  equally 
amazing,  whether  we  consider  their  magnitude  or 
number,  whatever  their  use,  whatever  their  order,  — 
all  have  been  produced,  not  by  intelligence,  but  by 
chance.'  —  *  It  is  with  difficulty  that  I  can  suppose 
otherwise,'  returned  Aristodemus:  'for  I  behold  none 
of  those  gods  whom  you  speak  of  as  making  and 
governing  all  things  ;  whereas  I  see  the  artists  when 
at  their  work  here  among  us.'  —  *  Neither  yet  seest 
thou  thy  soul,  Aristodemus  ;  which,  however,  most 
assuredly  governs  thy  body  :  although  it  may  well 
seem,  by  thy  manner  of  talking,  that  it  is  chance, 
and  not  reason,  which  governs  thee.' 

"'I  do  not  despise  the  gods,'  said  Aristodemus : 
*on  the  contrary,  I  conceive  so  highly  of  their 
excellence,  as  to  suppose  they  stand  in  no  need 
either  of  me  or  of  my  services.'  — '  Thou  mistakest 
the  matter,  Aristodemus:  the  greater  magnificence 
they  have  shown  in  their  care  of  thee,  so  much 
the  more  honor  and  service  thou  owest  them.'  — 
*  Be  assured, '  said  Aristodemus,  '  if  I  once  could 
be  persuaded  the  gods  take  care  of  man,  I  should 
want  no  monitor  to  remind  me  of  my  duty.'  —  *  And 


The  Divine  in  Man.  91 

canst  thou  doubt,  Aristodemus,  if  the  gods  take  care 
of  man  ?  Hath  not  the  glorious  privilege  of  walking 
upright  been  alone  bestowed  on  him,  whereby  he 
may  with  the  better  advantage  survey  what  is  around 
him,  contemplate  with  more  ease  those  splendid  ob- 
jects which  are  above,  and  avoid  the  numerous  ills 
and  inconveniences  which  would  otherwise  befall 
him  ?  Other  animals  indeed  they  have  provided 
with  feet,  by  which  they  may  remove  from  one  place 
to  another  ;  but  to  man  they  have  also  given  hands, 
with  which  he  can  form  many  things  for  his  use,  and 
make  himself  happier  than  creatures  of  any  other 
kind.  A  tongue  hath  been  bestowed  on  every  other 
animal ;  but  what  animal,  except  man,  hath  the 
power  of  forming  words  with  it,  whereby  to  explain 
his  thoughts,  and  make  them  intelHgible  to  others  ? 

"  *  But  it  is  not  with  respect  to  the  body  alone  that 
the  gods  have  shown  themselves  thus  bountiful  to 
man.  Their  most  excellent  gift  is  that  soul  they 
have  infused  into  him,  which  so  far  surpasses  what 
is  elsewhere  to  be  found  ;  for  by  what  animal,  except 
man,  is  even  the  existence  of  those  gods  discovered, 
who  have  produced,  and  still  uphold  in  such  regular 
order,  this  beautiful  and  stupendous  frame  of  the 
universe  }  What  other  species  of  creature  is  to  be 
found  that  can  serve,  that  can  adore  them }  What 
other  animal  is  able,  like  man,  to  provide  against  the 
assaults  of  heat  and  cold,  of  thirst  and  hunger ;  that 
can  lay  up  remedies  for  the  time  and  of  sickness,  and 
improve  the  strength  nature  has  given  by  a  well- 
proportioned  exercise ;   that  can  receive,  Hke  him, 


92      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

information  or  instruction,  or  so  happily  keep  in 
memory  what  he  hath  seen  and  heard  and  learned  ? 
These  things  being  so,  who  seeth  not  that  man  is,  as 
it  were,  a  God  in  the  midst  of  this  visible  creation  ? 
So  far  doth  he  surpass,  whether  in  the  endowments 
of  soul  or  body,  all  animals  whatsoever  that  have 
been  produced  therein  :  for,  if  the  body  of  the  ox  had 
been  joined  to  the  mind  of  man,  the  acuteness  of  the 
latter  would  have  stood  him  in  small  stead,  while  un- 
able to  execute  the  well-designed  plan  ;  nor  would 
the  human  form  have  been  of  more  use  to  the  brute, 
so  long  as  it  remained  destitute  of  understanding. 
But  in  thee,  Aristodemus,  hath  been  joined  to  a  won- 
derful soul  a  body  no  less  wonderful  ;  and  sayest 
thou,  after  this,  the  gods  take  no  thought  for  me  ? 
What  wouldst  thou  then  more  to  convince  thee  of 
their  care  ? ' " 

He  seems  to  have  entertained  the  mechanical 
theory  of  nature,  which  Paley  taught  with  such  suc- 
cess, but  now  becoming  obsolete.  Such  a  being  at 
once  becomes  a  personality,  a  man.  It  can  only  be 
grasped  by  the  mind  after  the  loss  of  its  infinite 
qualities. 

Euclid  maintained  that  there  was  but  one  unut- 
terable being,  to  be  known  by  reason  only.  This 
being  was  not  simply  The  One,  nor  simply  intelli- 
gence :  it  was  The  Good.  This  being  received  various 
names  :  sometimes  Wisdom,  sometimes  God,  at  oth- 
ers Reason.  This  one  Good  is  the  only  thing  which 
exists.     All  else  is  phenomenal  and  transitory. 

The  doctrines  of  Plato,  the  ardent  disciple  of 


speculations  of  Plato,  93 

Socrates,  have  peculiar  interest ;  as  they  have  been 
recently  revived,  and  are  considered  by  many  as  the 
most  profound  ever  enunciated.  They  also  exerted 
a  great  influence  on  infantile  Christianity.  Lewes 
presents  the  following  masterly  summary  of  his  doc- 
trines :  — 

"  In  the  sarne  way  as  Plato  sought  to  detect  the  one 
amidst  the  multiplicity  of  material  phenomena,  and, 
having  detected  it,  declared  it  to  be  the  real  essence 
of  matter,  so  also  did  he  seek  to  detect  the  one 
amidst  the  multiplicity  of  ideas,  and,  having  detected 
it,  declared  it  to  be  God.  What  ideas  were  to  phe- 
nomena, God  was  to  ideas,  —  the  last  result  of  gener- 
alization. God  was  thus  the  One  Being,  comprising 
within  himself  all  other  beings ;  the  h  v.ai  nulla ;  the 
cause  of  all  things,  celestial  and  terrestrial.  God 
was  the  supreme  idea.  Whatever  view  we  take  of 
the  Platonic  cosmology,  —  whether  God  created 
ideas,  or  whether  he  only  fashioned  imformed  matter 
after  the  model  of  ideas,  —  we  are  equally  led  to  the 
conviction,  that  God  represented  the  supreme  idea 
of  all  existence  ;  the  great  intelligence,  source  of  all 
other  intelligences  ;  the  sun  whose  light  illumined 
creation.  God  is  perfect,  ever  the  same,  without  en- 
vy, wishing  nothing  but  good ;  for,  although  a  clear 
knowledge  of  God  is  impossible  to  mortals,  an  approx- 
imation to  that  knowledge  is  possible.  We  cannot 
know  what  he  is :  we  can  only  know  what  he  is  like. 
He  must  be  good,  because  self-sufficing ;  and  the 
world  is  good,  because  he  made  it.  Why  did  he 
make  it  ?     God  made  the  world  because  he  was  free 


94       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

from  envy,  and  wished  that  all  things  should  resem- 
ble him  as  much  as  possible  :  he  therefore  persuaded 
necessity  to  become  stable,  harmonious,  and  fash- 
ioned according  to  excellence.  Yes,  "  persuaded  "  is 
Plato's  word, — for  there  were  two  eternal  principles, 
intelligence  and  necessity ;  and  from  the  mixture  of 
these  the  world  was  made.  But  intelligence  per- 
suaded necessity  to  be  fashioned  according  to  excel- 
lence. He  arranged  chaos  into  beauty ;  but  as 
there  is  nothing  beautiful  but  intelligence,  and  as 
there  is  no  intelligence  without  a  soul,  he  placed  a 
soul  into  the  body  of  the  world,  and  made  the  world 
an  animal. 

"  Plato's  proof  of  the  world  being  an  animal  is  too 
curious  a  specimen  of  his  analogical  reasoning  to  be 
passed  over.  There  is  warmth  in  the  human  being  : 
there  is  warmth  also  in  the  world.  The  human  be- 
ing is  composed  of  various  elements,  and  is  there- 
fore called  a  body ;  the  world  is  also  composed 
of  various  elements,  and  is  therefore  a  body :  and, 
as  our  bodies  have  souls,  the  body  of  the  world 
must  have  a  soul ;  and  that  soul  stands  in  the  same 
relation  to  our  souls  as  the  warmth  of  the  world 
stands  to  our  warmth.  Having  thus  demonstrated 
the  world  to  be  an  animal,  it  was  but  natural  he 
should  conceive  that  animal  as  resembling  its  Crea- 
tor, and  human  beings  as  resembling  the  universal 
animal,  to  nav  tjaov. "  As  soon  as  the  world,  that  image 
of  the  eternal  gods, — as  soon  as  that  vast  animal  be- 
gan to  move,  live,  and  think,  God  looked  upon  his 
work,  and  was  glad. 


Platonic  Sol-  lion  of  Problem  of  Evil.     95 

"  But,  although  God  in  his  goodness  would  have 
made  nothing  evil,  he  could  not  prevent  the  exist- 
ence of  it.  Various  disputes  have  been  warmly 
carried  on  by  scholars,  respecting  the  nature  of  this 
evil  which  Plato  was  forced  to  admit.  Some  have 
conceived  it  nothing  less  than  the  Manichaean  doc- 
trine. Thus  much  we  may  say :  The  notion  of  an  an- 
tagonist principle  is  inseparable  from  every  religious 
formula :  as  God  can  only  be  good,  and  as  evil  does 
certainly  exist,  it  must  exist  independently  of  him  ; 
it  must  be  eternal.  Plato  cut  the  matter  very  short 
by  his  logical  principle,  —  that,  since  there  was  a 
good,  there  must  necessarily  be  the  contrary  of  good  ; 
namely,  evil.  If  evil  exists,  how  does  it  exist,  and 
where?  It  cannot  find  place  in  the  celestial  region  of 
ideas.  It  must  therefore  necessarily  dwell  in  the  ter- 
restrial region  of  phenomena  :  its  home  is  the  world  — 
it  is  banished  from  heaven.  And  is  not  this  logical  .-• 
What  is  the  world  of  phenomena  but  an  imperfect 
copy  of  the  world  of  ideas  }  and  how  can  the  imper- 
fect be  the  purely  good  .-•  When  ideas  are  "  realized," 
as  the  pantheists  would  say  ;  when  ideas,  pure,  im- 
mutable essences,  are  clothed  in  material  forms,  or 
when  matter  is  fashioned  after  the  model  of  those 
ideas,  —  what  can  result  but  imperfections  .-'  The 
ideas  are  not  in  this  world  :  they  are  only  in  a  state 
of  becoming,  ovrag  ovxa,  not  yiyvo^sva.  Phenomena  are 
in  their  very  nature  imperfect :  they  are  perpetually 
striving  to  exist  as  realities.  In  their  constitution 
there  is  something  of  the  divine  :  an  image  of  the 


96        Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

Idea,  and  some  participation  in  it ;  but  more  of  the 
primeval  chaos. 

"  Those,  therefore,  who  say  that  Plato  thought 
that  '  Evil  was  inherent  in  matter,'  though  express- 
ing themselves  loosely,  express  themselves,  on  the 
whole,  correctly.  Matter  was  the  great  necessity 
which  intelligence  fashioned.  Because  it  was  neces- 
sity, and  unintelligent,  it  was  evil ;  for  intelligence 
alone  can  be  good. 

"  Now,  as  this  world  of  phenomena  is  the  region 
where  evil  dwells,  we  must  use  our  utmost  endeav- 
ors to  escape  from  it.  And  how  escape  }  By  sui- 
cide }  No  :  by  leading  the  life  of  the  gods.  And 
every  Platonist  knows  that  the  life  of  the  gods  con- 
sists in  the  eternal  contemplation  of  truth,  of  ideas. 
Thus,  as  on  every  side,  are  we  forced  to  encounter 
dialectics  as  the  sole  salvation  of  man. 

"  From  the  above  explanation  of  evil,  it  will  be 
seen  that  there  is  no  contradiction  in  Plato's  saying, 
that  the  quantity  of  evil  in  this  life  exceeded  that 
of  the  good  :  it  exceeds  it  in  the  proportion  that 
phenomena  exceed  noumena,  that  matter  exceeds 
ideas. 

"  But,  although  evil  be  a  necessary  part  of  the 
world,  it  is  in  constant  struggle  with  good.  What 
is  this  but  the  struggle  of  becoming  ?  And  man  is 
endowed  with  free  will  and  intelligence  :  he  may 
therefore  choose  between  good  and  evil.  And  ac- 
cording to  his  choice  will  his  future  life  be  regulated. 
Metempsychosis  was  a  doctrine  Plato  borrowed  from 
Pythagoras  ;  and  in  that  doctrine  he  could  find  argu- 


Ideas  of  the  Stoics.  97 

ments  for  the  enforcement  of  a  sage  and  virtuous 
life,  which  no  other  afforded  at  that  epoch." 

The  stoics  said  there  two  elements  in  nature. 
The  first  was  primordial  matter,  out  of  which  every- 
thing is  formed.  The  second  is  the  active  creative 
principle,  —  reason,  destiny,  God.  The  divine  reason 
acting  on  nature  bestows  the  laws  which  govern  it. 
God  is  the  reason  of  the  world.  From  this  date 
they  deduced  their  system  of  ethics.  If  the  divine 
reason  bestows  the  laws  which  govern  matter,  to  live 
in  conformity  to  reason  must  be  the  practical  moral 
law  ;  and  there  is  but  one  formula  for  morals,,  and  that 
is,  "  Live  harmoniously  with  nature."  A  better  con- 
clusion, no  matter  from  what  data  derived,  cannot  be 
attained.  In  the  conflicting  atmosphere  of  wordy 
dispute  and  rash  speculation,  it  gleams  like  a  living 
thought  torn  from  the  present. 

Thus  far  we  have  spoken  only  of  the  ideas  of  the 
sages,  men  of  thought,  who  possessed  all  the  know- 
ledge and  culture  of  their  times.  There  is  another 
and  more  common  view  known  as  the  mythology  of 
Greece  and  Rome :  the  system  known  to  the  common 
people,  and  worked  into  form  by  the  poets.  The 
philosophers  regarded  the  great  truths  of  religion  as 
too  sacred  to  be  given  to  the  common  people.  They 
shrouded  them  with  mystery.  The  myths  they 
encouraged  they  did  not  themselves  entertain.  Just 
as  at  present  there  is  a  religious  system,  with  creeds 
and  dogmas  and  myths  for  the  mass  of  the  people, 
while  the  best  thinkers  of  the  age  are  above  them, 
tolerating  them  only  from  policy  and  expediency. 
7 


98       Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

The  cultivated  nations  of  antiquity  founded  their 
religion  on  mystery.  Where  and  how  the  "  Mys- 
teries "  were  founded  has  created  much  discussion. 
Their  origin  is  lost  in  the  night  of  time.  They  were 
supported  by  the  Egyptians,  and  perfected  by  the 
Greeks,  growing,  little  by  little,  under  the  guidance 
of  a  priesthood,  who,  by  dealing  with  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  divine,  came  to  be  regarded  as  personally 
divine,  and  nearer  the  gods  than  other  men.  The 
priests  were  educated  in  all  that  was  known  in  science 
and  art.  This  knowledge,  enveloped  in  a  sacred  dia- 
lect, and  exciting  reverence  by  its  unintelligibility, 
was  marshaled  to  work  miracles  before  the  terri- 
fied initiates.  Electricity,  fulminating  compounds, 
hydrostatical  pressure,  and  secret  mechanical  con- 
trivances, were  commanded  by  their  exhaustless 
wealth.  Such  charms  and  attractions  were  thrown 
around  the  system,  so  vividly  were  the  secrets  of 
life  and  death  presented  to  the  votary,  that  Cicero 
says,  "  Men  came  from  the  most  distant  shores  to  be 
initiated  at  Eleusis  ; "  and  Sophocles  remarks,  "  True 
life  is  to  be  found  only  among  the  initiates  :  all  other 
places  are  full  of  evil." 

The  Mysteries  was  the  great  church  of  the  ancient 
world,  in  which  concentrated  all  its  spiritual  ideas, 
around  which  clustered  all  its  hopes,  and  from  which 
Christianity  drew  the  major  part  of  its  doctrines. 
The  efforts  of  Julian  to  stay  the  tide  of  Christian 
reform,  and  restore  the  old  doctrines  ;  the  numerous 
protests  furnished  by  history,  —  show  how  deeply 
rooted  were  the  Mysteries  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 


The  Sacred  Mysteries.       '  99 

What  were  these  Mysteries  ?  From  their  secret 
character  little  can  be  gathered  of  their  most  esoteric 
parts  ;  but,  from  the  allusions  made  by  different 
classic  authors,  a  faint  idea  can  be  gathered  of  their 
surpassing  beauties  and  awful  terrors.  As  celebrated 
at  Eleusis,  by  their  singular  magnificence  and  impos- 
ing grandeur,  they  far  eclipsed  all  others  of  the  world, 
and  ancient  writers  take  delight  in  exalting,  and  with 
false  learning  gathering  clouds  around  them. 

These  Mysteries  were  established  about  fourteen 
centuries  before  Christ ;  and  such  was  their  hold  on 
the  popular  mind,  that  for  eighteen  hundred  years 
they  were  celebrated,  and  were  only  abolished  by  the 
severity  of  the  bigoted  Theodosius  the  Great.  He 
would  not  have  the  old  faith  linger  otherwise  than  in 
the  Church.  During  all  that  period,  the  Mysteries 
were  held  in  superstitious  reverence.  If  any  one 
revealed  the  secrets  intrusted  at  initiation,  the  ven- 
geance of  the  gods  fell  on  his  head,  and  it  was 
deemed  unsafe  to  dwell  in  the  same  house  with  such 
a  wretch,  whom,  if  the  gods  spared,  was  ignorainiously 
put  to  death.  The  stigma  of  non-observance  was  far 
greater  than  that  attending  the  infidelity  at  present. 
It  was  a  weighty  charge  brought  against  Socrates, 
that  he  neglected  the  worship  of  the  gods. 

Every  five  years,  all  Athens  assembled  at  Eleusis, 
in  Attica,  to  celebrate  those  solemnities.  The  vast 
concourse  gathered  on  the  plains,  around  a  splendid 
temple  erected  over  a  cavern,  in  which,  at  an  earlier 
day,  the  rites  were  first  held.  This  cave  was  exca- 
vated  into   a   labyrinth   of  passages,  in  which   tht* 


lOO    Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

novitiate  could  be  led  through  darkness,  until  bewil- 
dered and  overcome  with  terror  and  fatigue.  This 
temple  was  of  the  purest  Doric  architecture,  its  end- 
less colonnades  chiseled  from  snowy  marble,  without 
spot  or  stain.  It  stood  on  a  swell  of  ground,  and 
could  be  seen,  rising  in  crystal  beauty,  by  all  the 
mighty  multitude.  Over  its  front  was  a  colossal 
head  of  Jupiter,  calm,  beneficent,  all-powerful.  On 
either  side  a  statue  of  Ceres  smiled  on  the  passing 
worshiper. 

All  the  effect  produced  by  grandeur  of  architec- 
ture, or  beauty  of  form,  was  lavishly  bestowed.  Per- 
sons of  both  sexes,  and  without  regard  to  age,  were 
initiated.  They  had  first  to  enter  the  lesser  mysteries 
of  Agrae  on  a  previous  year ;  then,  at  the  expiration 
of  which,  subject  themselves  to  a  rigid  system  of 
purification.  For  nine  days  they  bathed  and  fasted, 
keeping  themselves  uncontaminated  by  the  world. 
Then  they  presented  themselves  before  the  temple 
of  the  greater  mystery.  Athens  has  assembled-;  old 
men  and  young,  husband  and  wife,  and  prattling 
babe.  Athens  has  betaken  herself  to  the  field  for  a 
time,  to  indulge  in  free  communion  with  nature  and 
the  divine  spirits  whom  she  believes  govern  the 
world.  Those  who  await  initiation  —  the  indoctrin- 
ization  into  their  subtile  wisdom  —  have  crowns  of 
flowers,  and  offer  sacrifices  and  prayers.  Under 
their  feet  they  wear  the  skin  of  some  animal  offered 
to  Jupiter.  Then  they  offered  a  sow  to  Ceres,  in 
thankfulness  for  the  influence  for  good  she  exerts. 

They  were  then  prepared  to  enter  the  presence  of 


The  Sacred  Mysteries,  loi 

the  gods,  having  overcome  the  sins  of  the  body. 
Night  settles  over  the  mountains  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful spot  on  earth.  They  silently  repose,  overlooked 
by  the  brilliant  stars.  A  multitude  of  fires  glimmer 
over  the  plain,  but  the  people  have  gone  to  the  tem- 
ple. They  are  assisting  the  uninitiated  in  their  first 
lessons.  With  crowns  of  myrtle,  these  were  led  into 
the  temple.  At  the  door  was  a  fount  of  holy  water, 
in  which  they  washed.  Above  this,  in  a  recess,  sat 
a  priest.  With  a  calm,  low,  but  terrible  voice,  he 
asked  the  candidates,  one  by  one,  the  following  ques- 
tions, all  of  which  they  must  answer  in  the  aflirma- 
tive,  or  be  at  once  expelled  :  "  Have  you  passed  the 
mystery  of  the  Agrae  .-•  Are  you  pure  and  spotless 
from  the  world }  Are  you  free  from  crime  .-' "  Then, 
in  an  impressive  tone,  he  chanted,  "He  who  enters 
must  be  pure,  or  the  gods  will  destroy  him.  He 
who  passes  this  portal  goes  into  a  shadow,  from 
which  only  the  just  return.  O  weak,  thoughtless, 
and  improvident  mortal,  daring  to  penetrate  the 
realm  of  the  gods,  aspire  to  truth  and  perfection,  and 
strive  to  discard  the  flesh  and  the  world." 

Then  they  were  led  onward,  in  front  of  a  lofty 
tribunal,  when  the  mysteries,  or  laws,  were  read  to 
them.  These  were  written  on  two  stones  cemented 
together.  Then  they  were  led  before  another  tribu- 
nal, more  lofty  and  imposing  than  the  other.  Above 
it  was  a  zone,  on  which  was  painted  the  twelve  signs 
of  the  zodiac  :  on  its  front  was  a  blazing  sun,  on 
either  side  of  which  was  a  winged  globe.  The  in- 
tense light  beneath  revealed  the  priest  seated  in  an 


I02     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

ivory  chair,  his  dark  mantle  embroidered  with  gold, 
and  a  silver  crown  on  his  temples.  All  else  was 
blackness  and  profoundest  gloom.  The  awe-struck 
initiates  could  see  nothing  but  the  form  of  the  priest 
glittering  in  the  terrible  darkness.  As  they  paused 
before  him,  he  asked  them  a  series  of  questions 
referring  to  the  conduct  of  their  lives.  When  they 
were  answered,  he  waved  them  onward  into  the  pro- 
found gloom. 

As  they  advanced,  a  terrific  blast  extinguished 
their  dim  torches  ;  the  darkness  became  stifling ; 
the  trembling  worshiper  was  blinded  with  lightning, 
that  seemed  to  hiss  through  the  void.  The  crash  of 
thunders  deafened  their  ears  ;  the  earth  swayed  and 
quaked  under  their  feet,  and  from  its  bowels  came 
the  most  frightful  bowlings  and  moanings,  as  of 
myriads  of  lost  souls  writhing  in  the  agony  of 
scorching  flames.  Out  of  the  darkness  leaped  spec- 
tres of  gigantic  and  awful  outline.  Sometimes  these 
shades  threatened  to  destroy  the  pale  and  trembling 
worshiper :  at  others,  they  mockingly  laughed  and 
derided,  and  fehe  vaulted  rocks  echoed  their  demoniac 
merriment.  Then  others  would  spring  up,  like  a 
body  of  flame,  and  as  instantly  disappear.  Then  a 
thousand  would  arise  out  of  the  blackness,  and  with 
a  sound  of  a  whirlwind  rush  towards  the  intruders. 
As  they  came  near,  they  vanished,  and  the  place  was 
left  in  night,  and  from  afar  came  the  most  dismal  and 
terrifying  wails. 

Such  were  the  sufferings  of  those  who  were  un- 
true to  the  Mysteries,  by  revealing  the  Secrets  there 


The  Sacred  Mysteries.  103 

revealed,  of  those  who  were  unjust  and  evil  on  earth, 
and  who  disregarded  the  rights  of  their  fellow-men. 
No  one,  not  even  the  stoutest-hearted  soldier, 
imbued  with  superstition  as  they  were,  could  endure 
the  terrible  ordeal.  They  sank,  stupefied,  on  the 
marble  floor,  and  stared  vacantly  at  the  horrid  forms 
of  men,  the  flying  dragons  and  scorpions,  the  huge 
and  ravenous  beasts  and  birds  of  prey,  which  winged 
hissingly  above  them.  Their  hair  stood  upright,  the 
•  cold  perspiration  beaded  on  their  rigid  foreheads. 
Their  guide  assumed  the  form  of  a  demon ;  and  they 
arose,  and  mechanically  followed  through  long  and 
winding  passages  and  labyrinthine  mazes.  Hoarse 
voices  shouted  and  shrieked  behind  them,  to  seize 
and  destroy  the  outcasts,  —  to  drag  them  with  vul- 
ture-beaks into  the  abysm  of  fire.  The  hissing  of 
their  breath  was  close  upon  them  ;  the  swift  sound 
of  myriads  smote  the  ear ;  their  very  touch  could  be 
felt  by  the  initiate,  too  frightened  to  escape.  Then 
in  an  instant  light  broke  in  a  glittering  flood  of  silver 
over  the  scene.  They  stood  in  a  magnificent  hall, 
lighted  from  an  azure  dome  above,  by  a  light  like  the 
sun's.  Marble  pillars  supported  it  on  every  side,  be- 
tween which,  in  various  attitudes,  the  gods  and  god- 
desses were  chiseled  from  Parian.  Surges  of  most 
exquisite  melody  filled  the-  place,  and  thrilled  the 
soul  with  its  perfection.  With  unspeakable  joy  they 
beheld  a  being  clothed  in  white,  with  silver  embroi- 
dery, descending  from  a  throne,  and,  taking  each  by 
the  hand,  pronounce  the  words,  "  It  is  finished."  * 
*  Apaleius. 


I04     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

Out  of  the  blackness  and  turmoil ;  out  of  the  in- 
sane madness,  the  death-grappling  of  this  life ;  out  of 
its  seething  trials,  and  groans  of  anguish,  its  night 
of  sorrow  and  pain,  —  comes  the  light,  the  bright 
day  of  joy,  the  beautiful  day  of  peace  and  ever- 
enduring  happiness.  In  ourselves  we  are  nothing. 
The  gods  are  all  in  all.  Rely  on  their  guidance,,  and 
reject  the  sham  of  this  life.  Such  was  the  lesson 
burned  into  the  heart ;  branded  indelibly  into  the 
fibres  of  the  soul. 

All  that  was  awful,  terrific,  amazing,  dreadful,  was 
presented ;  and  after  it  the  sinking  soul  was  lifted 
to  heaven,  on  the  wings  of  all  that  please  and  de- 
light. 

What  were  the  words  read  from  the  tablets  of 
stone,  for  which  these  mysteries  were  an  introduc- 
tion and  a  safeguard  "i  So  profoundly  was  the 
knowledge  of  them  concealed,  that  historians  have 
never  obtained  a  syllable.  They  were,  probably,  the 
rules  for  moral  conduct,  similar  to  those  which  Moses 
gave  the  Israelites,  —  principles  which  man  early 
learns,  and  which  naturally  arrange  themselves  into 
a  moral  code. 

The  Mysteries  were  celebrated  for  nine  days,  dur- 
ing which  all  distinctions  of  rank  and  wealth  were 
abolished.  Lycurgus  passed  a  law  that  any  woman 
who  should  attend  in  a  chariot  should  be  fined  six 
thousand  drachmas.  These  nine  days  were  filled 
with  interesting  and  curious  episodes.  The  meet- 
ing on  the  first  day  was  that  of  a  social  gathering. 
Afterwards  they  bathed  in  the  sea,  to  purify  them- 


The  Sacred  Mysteries.  105 

selves ;  offered  a  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  barley  to  Ceres,  the  goddess  of  the  har- 
vest Every  ceremony  had  a  meaning  to  the  enthu- 
siastic worshipers.  The  processions  following  the 
basket  of  Ceres,  of  women  carrying  the  various 
products  of  the  earth,  the  pausing  on  the  bridge 
Cephissus  to  deride  the  passer-by,  the  games  where- 
in the  reward  for  the  victor  was  a  measure  of  barley, 
possessed  meanings,  which,  however  dim  to  us,  were 
significant  to  their  votaries. 

They  have  been  charged  with  immorality  by  big- 
oted sectaries  who  wished  thereby  to  prove  the  ne- 
cessity of  revelation ;  but  the  concurrent  voice  of 
antiquity  confirms  their  pure  morality.  Men  like 
Plato,  Sophocles,  Lycurgus,  and  Cicero,  eulogize 
their  influence.  Minor  branches  may  have  de- 
scended to  vile  practices ;  but  it  was  always  said 
of  the  great  Mysteries,  that  they  purified  the  heart, 
inspired  and  calmed  the  mind,  and,  with  an  exalted 
morality,  taught  the  hopes  of  sublime  realities  of  a 
higher  life.  * 

Such  was  the  religion  Christianity  supplanted,  not 
Judaism.  From  it  was  drawn  the  primary  doctrines 
of  the  Orthodox  faith,  such  as  the  trinity,  the  incar- 
nation, the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the  atonement, 
hell,  heaven,  purgatory,  and  the  judgment-day. 

Such  was  the  magnificent  esoteric  system  of  the 
ancients.  It  was  only  open  to  the  aristocrats  of  in- 
tellect. The  commonality  received  another  form 
more  consistent  with  their  mental  conceptions 

*  Cicero.     De.  Leg.,  lib.  ii.  cap.  xiv. 


io6     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

With  them  Jupiter  ruled  the  vaults  of  air,  Neptune 
the  ocean,  and  Pluto  the  dark  and  shadowy  under- 
world. From  the  Thunderer  on  high  Olympus,  down 
the  interminable  distance  to  man,  there  was  a  succes- 
sion of  deities,  possessing  all  grades  of  intelligence 
and  power.  Some  writers  argue  that  these  myths 
were  inventions  of  priests,  and  others  that  they  are 
symbolic  :  both  explanations  are  unnecessary,  •for 
they  are  spontaneous  creations  of  a  buoyant  fancy, 
brought  in  its  youth  and  immaturity  in  contact  with 
the  startling  phenomena  of  nature.  Poetry  ruled. 
Rocks,  rivers,  streams,  woods,  trees,  fountains,  all 
were  personified.  The  child  afraid  of  the  dark  per- 
sonifies night,  and  fear  of  the  dark  forest  peoples  the 
wood  with  dryads. 

The  "  Mysteries "  are  of  a  much  later  growth. 
There  can  be  no  priests  until  the  accumulation  of  a 
rude  mythology  renders  their  mediation  necessary. 

Jupiter  was  regarded  by  the  people  as  the  central 
power,  gathering  around  him  the  other  deities  in  a 
family  of  the  gods.  He  assigns  their  provinces,  and 
controls  their  power.  Their  combined  efforts  do  not 
change  his  purpose,  and  even  when  he  rebukes  them 
the  serenity  of  his  soul  is  undisturbed.  His  might 
is  irresistible,  and  his  wisdom  unsearchable.  He 
holds  the  golden  balance  in  which  is  poised  the  des- 
tiny of  nations  and  men.  The  eternal  order  of 
events  and  earthly  kings  receive  their  power  from 
him.  But,  omnipotent  and  infinite  as  he  is  repre- 
sented, he  has  his  human  side,  and  is  subject  to  all 
the  passions. 


The  Family  of  the  Gods.  107 

Though  secure  from  dissolution,  and  exceedingly 
beautiful  and  strong,  and  warmed  with  a  purer  blood, 
his  celestial  power  is  sensible  to  pleasure  and  pain. 
In  common  with  all  the  inferior  gods,  he  needs  the 
refreshment  of  ambrosial  food,  and  the  savor  of  sac- 
rifices is  grateful  to  him.  He  loves,  hates,  is  jealous, 
wavers  in  his  purposes,  is  overreached  by  artifice, 
blinded  by  desire,  and,  by  resentment,  hurried  into 
disreputable  violence.  * 

He  is  nothing  more  than  a  Greek  intensified  and 
given  the  largest  ideal  power. 

As  the  gods  are  in  every  respect  human,  the  an- 
cients believed  that  to  gain  their  favor  required  the 
same  manners  as  to  approach  a  powerful  mortal, — 
homage  and  tribute  ;  or,  in  the  language  of  reli- 
gion, worship  and  sacrifice.  The  gods  were  re- 
galed with  the  fragrance  from  the  altar ;  and,  the 
more  sumptuous  the  offering,  the  better  were  they 
pleased.  If  the  god  was  thought  angry,  the  offering 
was  unusually  large.  If  exceedingly  wroth,  nothing 
less  than  a  human  life  would  serve  the  purpose. 
With  the  Greeks,  the  immolation  of  human  victims 
was  early  discarded  for  milder  forms  ;  but  there  can 
be  no  doubt  but  their  altars  were  once  stained  with 
human  gore,  as  were  those  of  all  the  surrounding 
nations. 

Jupiter,  the  supreme,  becomes  the  father  of  the 
inferior  gods  and  goddesses.  Minerva  sprang  from 
his  head  ;  Themis  bore  him  the  Seasons  and  Fates  ; 
the  ocean-nymph  Eurynome  bore  him  the  Graces ; 

*  Thirwall. 


1 08     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

Ceres,  by  him,  became  mother  of  Proserpine  ;  Mne- 
mosyne, of  the  Muses ;  Latona,  of  Apollo  and  Diana  ; 
and  his  last  wife,  Juno,  bore  him  Mars,  Hebe,  and 
Slithgia.  Homer  says  that  Venus  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jupiter  and  Dione.  Mortal  women  also  bore 
him  a  numerous  progeny,  and  his  purposes  were 
often  effected  by  disguise  and  deceit. 

The  application  of  this  to  the  supreme  God  may 
seem  sacrilegious  ;  but  we  must  remember,  and  pass 
judgment  with  proper  reservation,  that  Jehovah  the 
Supreme  God  is  represented  in  the  Bible  with  human 
passions  and  frailties.  He  ate  "  veal "  with  Abra- 
ham ;  "  wrestled  "  with  Jacob ;  talked  familiarly  with 
Moses  on  the  most  common  topics  ;  smelt  a  "  sweet 
savor "  from  the  burning  sacrifice ;  "  repented " 
making  man ;  was  cruel,  wrathful,  jealous,  and  re- 
vengeful. 

We  have  in  this  chapter  condensed  the  progress 
of  opinions  in  relation  to  God  of  nearly  a  thousand 
years.  From  the  simple  conception  of  water  as  the 
Infinite,  to  the  Eternal  Infinite  Intelligence  of  Socra- 
tes, is  a  gulf  spurned  by  the  most  gigantic  labors  of 
the  human  mind.  We  shall  now  see  how  these  lines 
of  advance  converge,  and  re-appear  through  the 
Alexandrian  school  in  Christianity. 


VI. 


THE      GOD-IDEA     OF     THE      ALEXANDRIAN      SCHOOL 
AND     EARLY     CHRISTIANITY 

Those  who  adore  me  devoutly  are  in  me,  and  I  in  them.  Crishna  is  at 
all  times  present  everywhere  ;  just  as  fire,  though  concealed  in  wood.  — 
Bhagavat  Geeta. 

To  know  that  God  is,  and  that  all  is  God,  this  is  the  substance  of  the 
Vedas.  —  Vedas. 

Every  violet  blooms  of  God ;  each  lily  is  fragrant  with  the  presence  of 
Deity.  The  awful  scenes  of  storm  and  lightning  and  thunder  seem  but 
the  eternal  sounds  of  the  great  concert,  wherewith  God  speaks  to  man. 

Parker. 

I  had  foolishly  hoped  that  I  should  soon  behold  the  Deity. 

Justin  Martyr. 

THE  Alexandrian  school  of  Dialectics  stood  be- 
tween the  philosophers  and  the  Christian 
world.  In  its  teachings  we  discover  the  dawn  of 
those  abstruse  speculations  which  early  engaged  the 
church  fathers  in  never-ending  discussion. 

Philo  was  the  first  of  the  Neo-Platonists.  A  Jew 
by  birth,  he  mingled,  in  a  strange  mysticism,  Greek 
philosophy  and  Oriental  imagination.  He  dis- 
trusted the  truth  of  sensuous  knowledge,  and  denied 
the  value  of  reason  as  a  criterion  of  truth.  He  be- 
lieved in  a  higher  faculty  in  man,  which  he  called 
faith. 

He  taught  that  God  is  ineffable  and  incomprehen- 


1 10     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

sible.  We  may  learn  his  existence,  but  not  his  na- 
ture. The  simple  knowledge  that  he  exists,  in  it- 
self, is  the  knowledge  of  his  being  one,  perfect, 
immutable,  and  without  attribute.  But  this  is  not  a 
knowledge  of  the  elements  of  his  perfection.  This 
finite  eye  cannot  penetrate.  We_  can  only  believe. 
If  we  cannot  learn  this,  we  can  his  essence.  We 
learn  this  in  the  Logos,  or  word.  The  word  forms  a 
strange  feature  in  the  mystical  system,  and  was  in- 
serted in  the  Bible.  God  being  wholly  inapproach- 
able, there  must  be  something  intermediate  between 
him  and  man,  and  this  is  supplied  by  the  word. 
According  to  Philo,  the  word  is  God's  thought.  This 
thought  is  twofold.  The  thought  embracing  all 
ideas,  and  the  realized  thought :  thought  became  the 
world.  In  this  statement,  the  trinity  of  Plotinus  is 
foreshadowed  :  first,  God  the  Father ;  second,  God 
the  Son,  or  the  word  ;  and,  third,  the  World,  He 
agreed  with  the  Cabalists,  that  there  was  a  mother 
of  the  universe,  whom  he  called  Sophia,  or  wisdom. 
Ideas  or  types,  according  to  which  the  Logos  formed 
the  world,  originated  from  the  two.  The  Logos  he 
calls  "  the  Son  of  God,"  "  the  express  image  of  God." 
No  created  being  resembled  the  Supreme  Father. 
Man  was  created  in  the  image  of  the  Logos.  Such 
were  the  vague  dreams  of  one  who  lived  near  the 
eventful  dawn  of  the  present  era.  Plotinus,  who  per- 
haps represents  the  school  better  than  any  other  of 
its  adherents,  held,  with  Plato,  that  there  could  be  but 
one  science  of  universals.  Individual  things  were  but 
phenomena  swiftly  passing  away ;  had  no  real  exist- 


Speculations  of  Plotinus.  1 1 1 

ence,  and  were  hence  unworthy  of  the  attention  of 
the  philosopher.  Ideas  were  the  only  universals. 
The  ideal  world  is  the  perfect  expression  of  the 
mode  of  God's  existence.  The  sensible  world  is  un- 
real to  us  through  our  senses.  Of  the  ideal  we  gain 
glimpses  through  the  reminiscence  which  the  sensi- 
ble world  awakens  ;  but  how  are  we  to  take  the  last 
step  }  how  are  we  to  understand  the  Deity  } 

As  we  are  finite  beings,  to  comprehend  the  Infi- 
nite, we  must  become  infinite  ourselves.  It  cannot 
be  through  reason  ;  w^hich  necessarily  is  finite,  and 
embraces  only  finite  objects.  It  must  be  through 
some  higher  and  altogether  impersonal  faculty  which 
identifies  with  its  object.  *' 

The  only  possible  ground  for  knowledge  is  the 
identity  of  subject  and  object,  or,  in  other  words,  of 
the  thought  with  the  thing  thought  of  Knowledge 
and  being  are  identical. 

"  If,"  says  Plotinus,  "  knowledge  is  the  same  as 
the  thing  known,  the  finite,  as  finite,  can  never  know 
the  Infinite,  because  it  cannot  be  the  Infinite.  To 
attempt,  therefore,  to  know  the  Infinite  by  reason  is 
futile  :  it  can  only  be  known  in  immediate  presence. 
The  faculty  by  which  the  mind  divests  itself  of  its 
personality  is  ecstasy.  In  this  ecstasy  the  soul  be- 
comes freed  from  its  material  prison,  separated  from 
individual  consciousness,  and  becomes  absorbed  in 
the  infinite  intelligence  from  which  it  emanated.  In 
this  ecstasy  it  contemplates  real  existence  :  it  iden- 
tifies itself  with  that  which  it  contemplates." 

*  Plotinus,  En.  v.  lib.  5,  c.  10. 


112      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

This  speculation,  while  it  savors  of  Platonism,  in- 
dicates its  Oriental  origin.  Thus  the  Alexandrians 
answered  the  world-old  question,  "  How  do  we  know 
God?" 

That  man  has  a  knowledge  of  God,  is  proof  that 
there  is  some  method  of  obtaining  such  knowledge. 
Reason  is  inadequate  because  finite.  It  must  be 
obtained  through  ecstasy,  in  which  the  soul  lost  its 
conscious  individuality,  and  came  in  contact  with, 
and  was  absorbed  by,  the  infinite  intelligence.  To 
understand  the  Infinite,  man  must  for  the  moment 
become  the  Infinite. 

Absurd  as  this  conslusion  appears,  it  is  not  as  ab- 
surd as  the  opposite,  which  degrades  the  Infinite, 
instead  of  exalting  the  finite.  It  is  not  as  absurd  as 
the  anthropomorphic,  which  is  universally  entertained 
by  Christendom. 

The  Alexandrian  school,  in  their  speculations  on 
the  nature  of  the  Infinite,  furnished  material  for  the 
church  dogma  of  the  holy  trinity  ;  the  basis,  as 
M.  Saisset  remarks,  of  all  Christian  metaphysics. 
Almost  all  the  important  heresies  have  grown  out  of 
it,  and  therefore  it  is  of  deep  interest  to  determine 
its  parentage.  It  is  maintained  by  one  party,  that 
the  church  received  it  from  the  Alexandrians ;  and, 
by  another,  that  the  latter  received  it  from  Christi- 
anity. The  first  party  are  certainly  in  the  right,  for 
the  doctrine  is  traceable  through  preceding  centuries 
of  thought,  and  in  that  school  is  more  completely 
developed. 

The  doctrine  of  the  trinity  may  be  stated  thus : 


speculations  of  the  Alexandrians.     113 

God  is  three,  and  at  the  same  time  is  one.  His 
nature  contains  within  itself  three  distinct  sub- 
stances, —  that  is,  persons,  —  which  make  one  being. 
The  first  is  not  being,  nor  the  one  being,  but  sim- 
ply unity.  The  second  is  intelligence;  which  is  iden- 
tical with  being.  The  third  is  universal  soul,  cause 
of  all  activity  and  life,  *  These  strange  and  seem- 
ingly conflicting  conceptions  are  obtained  by  an  in- 
genious method  of  reasoning.  Man  looks  abroad 
over  the  realm  of  nature,  and  sees  change  every- 
where. This  change  is  not  fortuitous,  as  the  most 
cursory  investigation  shows,  but  proceeds  to  fixed 
ends  and  purposes.  He  asks  for  the  cause,  and  the 
most  apparent  is  life.  The  world  is  alive  with  a  life 
similar  in  kind  to  his  own.  Proceeding  farther  in 
the  investigation,  and  inquiring  into  the  origin  of 
life,  he  finds  that  it  is  motion.  But  this  motion  does 
not  work  by  chance.  It  is  directed,  and  directed 
intelligently.  Here,  then,  is  the  cause  he  has  been 
seeking :  it  is  intelligent  motion.  What  is  this  but 
the  wonderful  power  residing  in  man  himself? 
What  is  it  but  a  soul  ?  Is  it  not  a  fragment  like  in 
kind,  different  only  in  degree,  from  the  universal 
and  eternal  soul  of  the  world  .■*  And  what  is  this 
universal  and  eternal  soul,  but  God  .-•  This  is  the 
first  person  of  the  Alexandrian  trinity. 

But  men  who  were  bred  in  the  schools  of  Plato 
and  Aristotle  could  not  rest  here.  Trained  to 
wrestle  with  the  most  abstract  thoughts,  they  soon 
discovered  that  the  term # intelligent  activity"  was 

*  Biog.  His.  Philosophy,  Lewes,  p.  321. 


1 14     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

capable  of  farther  reduction.  There  are  two  distinct 
ideas  expressed.  IntelHgence  is  referable  to  the 
mind  of  some  intelligent  being.  Motion  is  the  di- 
vine soul ;  intelligence,  the  divine  mind.  It  is  pure 
thought  abstracted  from  all  thinking.  It  does  not 
reason,  for  to  reason  is  to  acquire  knowledge.  It 
sees  the  consequence  simultaneously  with  the  prem- 
ises. It  is  eternal  existence  embracing  all  ideas. 
Here,  seemingly,  is  the  ultimate  of  abstraction, — pure 
thought  abstracted  from  thinking,  and  pure  being 
abstracted  from  existence  ;  but  the  Alexandrian  Di- 
alecticians saw  a  still  higher  form.  God,  as  exist- 
ence and  thought,  is  God  as  conceived  by  human 
reason  ;  only  a  hint  of  the  pure  unity,  its  highest 
ideal.  Its  type  is  human  reason.  An  examination 
of  thought  reveals  that  to  think  is  to  distinguish 
our  existence  from  some  other  existence.  But  noth- 
ing can  be  external  with  God.  In  him  there  can  be 
no  distinction,  determination,  nor  relation.  Hence, 
he  must  be  superior  to  thought,  or  being  ;  must  be 
a  unity,  which  is  not  existence  nor  intelligence. 
Unity  is  omnipresent,  and  the  bond  which  unites  all 
complex  things,  the  absolute  universal  one.  It  is 
the  highest  perfection  and  supreme  good. 

Plotinus  saw  that  God  was  not  defined  by  this 
effort  of  logic.  What  he  really  is  cannot  be  known. 
It  is  folly  to  strive  to  comprehend  him.  What  is 
this  unity  ?  It  is  "  absolute'  negation  ; "  it  is  the  ul- 
timate of  logic ;  what  Hegel  would  call  the  "  abso- 
lute nothing,"  the  immanent  negative.  There  only 
can  the  mind  rest ;  for,  when  it  predicates  anything 


Why  God  Creates.  115 

of  the  point  at  which  it  stops,  it  is  forced  to  admit 
something  beyond.  Its  course  is  roughly  drawn  by 
the  fable  of  the  world  resting  on  the  back  of  an  ele- 
phant, that  stands  on  the  back  of  a  tortoise,  that 
reposed  on  nothing.  At  the  absolute  negation  only, 
can  such  logic  find  repose. 

Plotinus  had  discovered  t'he  necessity  of  unity  as 
the  basis  of  existence.  If  the  unity  had  ever  re- 
mained alone,  the  many  could  not  have  been  created. 
The  many  implies  the  one,  as  the  one  implies  the 
many.  Each  principle  engenders  that  which  follows 
a  power  ineffable,  and  exercised  from  generation  to 
generation,  till  its  utmost  limits  are  attained. 

The  Christians  were  satisfied  by  saying,  God 
created  the  universe  by  the  simple  effort  of  his  will ; 
for  with  omnipotence  all  things  are  possible,  and 
one  effort  is  no  greater  than  another.  The  Alex- 
andrians said  that  the  world  was  a  manifestation  of 
God.     It  is  distinct  from,  yet  a  part  of,  God. 

A  ready  answer  was  found  for  the  question,  "  Why 
should  God  create  ? "  Aristotle  says,  "  A  God  who 
does  not  think  is  unworthy  of  respect.  If  intelligent, 
he  must  be  active.  A  force,  to  be  such,  must  engen- 
der something."  The  creation,  therefore,  springs  from 
the  very  nature  of  God.  He  is  of  necessity  a  cre- 
ator. He  is  like  a  sun,  constantly  throwing  off  rays, 
without  diminution  of  substance.  All  change,  the 
ceaseless  flux  and  reflux  of  things,  is  perishable,  and 
has  no  absolute  truth  or  duration.  To  die  is  to  live. 
It  is  to  throw  off  the  individuality  with  its  pitiable 
limitations  of  space  and  time,  and  be  absorbed  into 


1 1 6     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

the  bosom  of  the  Infinite  One.  In  the  momentary 
thrills  of  ecstasy  the  soul  is  thus  for  the  time  ab- 
sorbed, and  feels  the  exquisite  rapture  of  the  immor- 
tal being,  and  becomes  conscious  of  the  divine  light 
struggling  to  break  through  the  fetters  of  flesh,  and 
free  itself.  Imbued  with  such  conceptions,  the  dy- 
ing Plotinus  exclaims,  ."I  am  struggling  to  liberate 
the  divinity  within  me." 

The  slow  development  of  these  convictions  in  re- 
gard to  God,  and  man's  position  and  relations,  is  ob- 
servable through  long  centuries  of  painful  thought. 
All  the  great  minds,  from  Heraclites  to  Plotinus, 
were  oppressed  by  a  sense  of  their  own  littleness, 
and  the  fruitlessness  of  the  attempt  to  arrive  at  ab- 
solute truth.  They  felt  a  contempt  for  themselves, 
and  hence  the  popularity  of  the  stoics  and  cynics. 
This  life  is  nothing,  the  future  is  the  all.  But  we 
love  life  too  well  to  destroy  it.  We  are  too  mysteri- 
ously connected  with  the  web  of  the  world  to  cast  it 
from  us ;  but  we  can  become  moral  suicides,  and 
hence  asceticism.  If  man  cannot  command  courage 
to  leave  the  world,  he  can  withdraw  himself  from  its 
influence.     He  can  become  a  stylite,  or  a  hermit. 

Greek  philosophy  expired  with  the  Alexandrian 
school.  Beginning  with  Thales,  it  stretches  over 
the  long  centuries  in  a  complete  circle  of  endeavor. 
However  successful  in  other  fields,  in  the  solution  of 
the  nature  of  God,  it  made  scarcely  any  advance. 
Mistaking  the  path  of  true  investigation,  its  colossal 
genii  wandered  over  an  arid  desert,  boundless,  awful, 
enchanting,  but  destitute  of  life  or  beauty.     Thales 


Failure  of  the  Greek  Sages.  1 1 7 

at  the  threshold  saw  as  clearly  as  they  who  came 
seven  centuries  after  him.  They  failed  in  solving 
this  problem  :  but  the  human  mind  was  cultivated  by 
their  efforts,  as  an  athlete  is  strengthened  for  useful 
labor  by  the  exertions  of  the  gymnasium  ;  and  the 
soil  was  prepared  for  the  true  method. 

They  elevated  ethics  to  the  rank  of  a  science,  and 
extended  the  exceedingly  narrow  views  of  morality 
entertained  by  the  Greeks,  and  prepared  the  way  for 
the  reception  of  those  more  perfect  and  complete 
conceptions  of  individual  responsibilities  and  social 
relations  known  as  Christianity. 

From  the  portico  of  the  philosopher  these  ques- 
tions passed  to  the  early  Christians,  who,  in  the  ar- 
dent fervor  of  a  new  belief,  sought  their  solution  by 
ecstasy  more  than  by  reason. 

Plato,  unable  to  solve  the  problem  how  from  a  di- 
vine unity  the  diversity  of  creation  could  arise,  ana- 
lized  this  unity  into  three  parts,  —  the  cause,  the  rea- 
son or  Logos,  and  the  soul  or  spirit  of  the  universe. 
These  metaphysical  abstractions  in  his  ardent  imagi- 
nation were  clothed  with  personality,  and  consid- 
ered as  three  gods,  united  with  each  other  by  mys- 
terious and  ineffable  generation.  The  Logos  was 
the  Son  of  the  eternal  Father  and  Creator,  and 
Governor  of  the  world.  This  doctrine  was  received 
and  exemplified  by  the  Alexandrian  school,  where 
the  Mosaic  doctrines  met  Grecian  philosophy  on 
equal  grounds.  The  belief  was  a  simple  abstraction 
until  the  incarnation  of  the  Logos  in  the  person  of 
Christ  demonstrated  its  truth  to  the  astonished  Pa- 


1 1 8    Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

gans.  The  theology  of  Plato,  anticipating  by  three 
hundred  years  that  of  Christ,  naturally  excited  the 
curiosity  of  the  early  Christians,  and  by  them  was 
eagerly  studied. 

The  mysterious  triad,  or  trinity,  was  vehemently 
agitated  in  the  schools  of  Alexandria.  With  intense 
curiosity  they  sought  the  solution,  but  with  results 
disproportioned  to  the  labor  expended.  The  great 
Athanasius  confesses  that  in  the  vast  undertaking 
he  is  lost,  and  that  the  more  he  thinks  the  less  he 
understands.  When  the  human  mind  measures  it- 
self with  the  Infinite,  it  comprehends  how  inade- 
quate are  its  powers. 

Yet  it  was  the  boast  of  Tertullian  that  a  Christian 
mechanic  understood  this  subject  better  than  a  Gre- 
cian sage  ;  and  it  may  be  truly  said,  that,  when  the 
subject  is  so  great,  there  is  slight  difference  between 
what  the  wise  or  the  foolish  know.  The  salvation 
of  the  soul  depended  on  the  reception  of  this  doc- 
trine ;  and  the  more  ignorant  a  person  was,  the  more 
unthinkingly  was  the  doctrine  received. 

The  trinity  was  the  only  escape  of  the  early 
fathers  who  claimed  the  divinity  of  Christ.  This 
was  early  made  ;  as  the  Christians  of  Bithynia,  only 
fourscore  years  after  the  death  of  Christ,  declared 
before  the  tribunal  of  Pliny  that  they  received  Christ 
as  a  god,  and  worshiped  him  as  such.  They  could 
not  believe  that  the  Great  Eternal  One  had  become 
incarnated.  They  held  the  worship  of  a  created  be- 
ing in  horror,  but  the  Platonic  trinity  completely 
met  the  difficulty.     It  was  gratifying  to  contemplate 


Three  Aspects  of  the  Trinity.        119 

the  Supreme  as  undisturbed,  while  the  Logos  be- 
came incarnated  and  a  mediator  between  God  and 
man. 

The  disputants  at  first  confined  themselves  more 
to  the  distinctions  than  the  quality  of  the  persons  of 
the  Grodhead ;  but  they  afterwards  exhausted  the 
latter  subject  as  well.  They  next  investigated  the 
eternity  of  the  Logos,  and  the  wild  flames  of  ecclesi- 
astical discord  were  awakened.  The  learned,  pure, 
and  blameless  Arius  preached  the  unity  of  God,  and 
was  condemned  as  a  heretic,  a  sentence  confirmed 
by  the  Council  of  Nice. 

When  this  subject  is  investigated,  it  is  found  to 
receive  three  distinct  forms  in  the  human  mind,  and 
is  presented  by  Gibbon  in  the  following  masterly 
manner  :  —  * 

"  \.  According  to  the  first  hypothesis,  which  was 
maintained  by  Arius  and  his  disciples,  the  Logos  was 
a  dependent  and  spontaneous  production,  created 
from  nothing  by  the  will  of  the  Father.  The  Son, 
by  whom  all  things  were  made,  had  been  begotten 
before  all  worlds,  and  the  longest  of  the  astronomi- 
cal periods  could  be  compared  only  as  a  fleeting  mo- 
ment to  the  extent  of  his  duration  ;  yet  this  dura- 
tion was  was  not  infinite,  and  there  had  been  a  time 
which  preceded  the  ineflable  generation  of  the  Logos. 
On  this  only-begotten  Son  the  Almighty  Father  had 
transfused  his  ample  spirit,  and  impressed  the  effiil- 
gence  of  his  glory.  Visible  image  of  invisible  per- 
fection, he  saw,  at  an  immeasurable  distance  beneath 
*  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire. 


1 20     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

his  feet,  the  thrones  of  the  brightest  archangels  :  yet 
he  shone  only  with  a  reflected  light ;  and  like  the 
sons  of  the  Roman  emperors,  who  were  invested 
with  the  titles  of  Caesar  or  Augustus,  he  governed 
the  universe  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  his  Father 
and  Monarch. 

"  II.  In  the  second  hypothesis,  the  Logos  pos- 
sessed all  the  inherent,  incommunicable  perfections, 
which  religion  and  philosophy  appropriate  to  the 
Supreme  God.  Three  distinct  and  infinite  minds  or 
substances,  three  co-equal  and  co-eternal  beings, 
composed  the  Divine  Essence  ;  and  it  would  not 
have  implied  contradiction,  that  any  of  them  should 
not  have  existed,  or  that  they  should  ever  cease  to 
exist.  The  advocates  of  a  system  which  seemed  to 
establish  three  independent  deities  attempted  to 
preserve  the  unity  of  the  first  cause,  so  conspicuous 
in  the  design  and  order  of  the  world,  by  the  perpet- 
ual- concord  of  their  administration  and  the  essen- 
tial agreement  of  their  will.  A  faint  resemblance 
of  this  unity  of  action  may  be  discovered  in  the  so- 
cieties of  men,  and  even  of  animals.  The  causes 
which  disturb  their  harmony  proceed  only  from  the 
imperfection  and  inequality  of  their  faculties :  but 
the  omnipotence  which  is  guided  by  infinite  wisdom 
and  goodness  cannot  fail  of  choosing  the  same 
means  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  same  ends. 

"III.  Three  Beings,  who,  by  the  self-derived  ne- 
cessity of  their  existence,  possess  all  the  divine  at- 
tributes in  the  most  perfect  degree  ;  who  are  eternal 
in  duration,  infinite  in  space,  and  intimately  present 


Attempts  to  Escape.  121 

to  each  other,  and  to  the  whole  universe,  —  irresisti- 
bly force  themselves  on  the  astonished  mind,  as  one 
and  the  same  Being,  who,  in  the  economy  of  grace, 
as  well  in  that  of  nature,  may  manifest  himself  under 
different  forms,  and  be  considered  under  different 
aspects.  By  this  hypothesis,  a  real  substantial  trin- 
ity is  refined  into  a  trinity  of  names  and  abstract 
modifications,  that  subsist  only  in  the  mind  which 
conceives  them.  The  Logos  is  no  longer  a  person, 
but  an  attribute ;  and  it  is  only  in  a  figurative  sense 
that  the  epithet  of  Son  can  be  applied  to  the  eternal 
reason  which  was  with  God  from  the  beginning,  and 
by  which,  not  by  whom,  all  things  were  made.  The 
incarnation  of  the  Logos  is  reduced  to  a  mere  inspi- 
ration of  the  divine  wisdom,  which  filled  the  soul, 
and  directed  all  the  actions,  of  the  man  Jesus.  Thus, 
after  revolving  round  the  theological  cycle,  we  are 
surprised  to  find  that  the  Sabellian  ends  where  the 
Ebionite  had  begun  ;  and  that  the  incomprehensible 
mystery,  which  excites  our  adoration,  eludes  our  in- 
quiry." 

As  drowning  men  grasp  at  straws,  these  early  dis- 
putants seized  the  most  fanciful  resemblances  to 
support  their  conflicting  claims.  Augustine  consid- 
ered the  creation  of  the  world  in  six  days  as  a  proof 
of  the  trinity,  because  "  six  days  is  twice  three." 

Ambrose  argued  that  "  Jesus  appeared  to  be  the 
son  of  a  carpenter  to  signify  that  Christ  the  Son 
was  the  maker  of  all  things.  Thp  Arians  quoted  the 
early  fathers  to  prove  that  there  was  a  time  when  the 
Son  did  not  exist ;  but  this  idea  was  decided  to  be 


122     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

heresy.  Then  arose  the  question,  if  Christ  was  co- 
eternal  with  God,  how  came  he  to  say,  "  Of  that  hour 
knoweth  no  man  ;  no,  not  even  the  Son,  but  only  the 
Father."  This  difficulty  was  removed  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Chalcedon,  which  decided  that  Christ  pos- 
sessed two  perfectly  harmonizing  natures,  the  divine 
and  the  human.  As  God,  he  knew  everything ;  but, 
as  a  man,  many  things  were  concealed  from  him. 

The  ancient  unbelievers  in  the  divinity  of  Christ 
continually  asked  why  the  prophets  and  apostles, 
or  Christ  himself,  had  not  spoken  definitely  on  the 
trinity  ;  and  why  he  only  made  the  most  vague  allu- 
sions^  to  it.  Some  of  the  fathers  replied,  it  was  on 
account  of  the  material  tendency  of  the  Jews ;  and 
others,  that  it  was  necessary  to  keep  the  Devil  igno- 
rant of  the  fact 

Athanasius  says,  "  that  the  apostles  were  ignorant 
of  his  being  God ; "  and  Chrysostom  thought  it  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  them  to  have  been  ignorant. 
All  the  fathers  agree  that  for  this  design  it  was  ne- 
cessary for  Mary  to  have  a  nominal  husband. 

They  seized  the  Egyptian  mystical  numbers  as 
proof.  The  number  three,  the  Deity  in  his  com- 
pleteness. One  of  the  most  ancient  symbols  in 
Egypt  and  Hindostan,  of  the  Infinite,  was  a  triangle 
with  an  eye  in  the  centre.  The  Hindoos  represent 
their  three  great  gods  by  an  image  with  three  faces. 
The  Cabalists  expressed  the  idea  of  Plato  in  Hebrew 
style  by  Jehovah,  the  wisdom  of  Jehovah,  and  the 
habitation  of  Jehovah.    In  all  countries,  philosophers 


Speculations  of  Origen.  123 

and  mystics  have  yielded  ascent  to  the  idea  that  God 
was  one  in  three. 

The  Arians,  followers  of  the  great  and  exemplary 
Arius,  believed,  either  without  reserve  or  according 
to  the  Scriptures,  that  the  Son  differed  from  all  other 
creatures,  and  was  similar  only  to  the  Father.  But 
he  denied  that  he  was  of  the  same  or  similar  sub- 
stance. The  dispute  between  the  Athanasians  and 
Arians  was  not  an  unity  or  trinity,  so  much  as  the 
word  "  substance,"  and  other  verbal  distinctions.  But 
these  were  sufficient  cause  for  endless  dispute,  and 
the  life  of  Athanasius  was  consumed  in  his  opposition 
to  the  madness  of  Arius  and  the  promulgation  of  a 
doctrine  eventually  to  triumph. 

Origen  acknowledged  a  personal  God,  within 
whose  consciousness  all  things  that  exist  are  em- 
braced ;  who  created  by  the  exercise  of  his  will. 
The  Logos  was  to  the  Father  what  reason  is  in 
man.  He  was  the  concentration  of  the  glory  of 
God,  reflected  from  thence  to  the  world  of  spirit ; 
the  agent  employed  in  creating  the  world ;  the 
truth,  the  wisdom.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  the  divine 
energy  of  Deity  :  with  the  Son  it  was  as  much  exalt- 
ed above  all  other  spiritual  existences  as  the  Father 
was  above  them.  He  considered  Christ  a  perfect 
man  with  a  rational  soul,  a  sensitive  soul,  and  a  body 
like  other  men.  The  Logos  united  himself  with 
Christ's  rational  soul.  By  this  means  the  Logos 
came  into  communication  with  the  sensuous  nature, 
and  Christ  received  divine  power.  The  Holy  Spirit 
descended  on  Christ  at  his  baptism. 


124     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

The  minds  of  the  early  converts  were  prepared 
by  their  Pagan  beliefs  to  receive  the  doctrine  of  the 
incarnation  of  Christ.  They  believed  that  the 
spirits  of  sages  and  heroes  watched  over  the  welfare 
of  their  favorite  people,  and  hence  their  deification. 
That  these  spirits  could  return  and  become  incar- 
nated was  also  universally  received. 

The  incarnation  was  not  of  doubtful  solution,  but 
its  manner  in  this  particular  instance  became  as  dif- 
ficult of  solution  as  the  trinity  itself  The  Ebion- 
ites  were  deeply  imbued  with  the  material  ideas 
of  the  Jews  in  regard  to  a  temporal  Messiah.  They 
could  not  invest  the  son  of  a  carpenter  with  divin- 
ity. If,  as  some  supposed,  he  was  an  offspring  of  a 
virgin  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  then,  with  faculties  en- 
larged by  the  Father  to  meet  every  requirement,  he 
was  super-mortal.  But  those  who  had  conversed 
with  Christ  as  with  a  friend,  had  seen  him  mature 
from  infancy,  could  not  free  themselves  from  the 
prejudice  of  their  senses,  which  declared  him  like 
other  men. 

When  the  doctrine  of  his  divinity  was  transplanted 
from  the  sterile  soil  of  Syria  to  Rome,  where  men 
had  not  come  in  direct  contact  with  Christ  or  his 
apostles,  it  met  a  ready  acceptance.  The  philoso- 
phers of  that  age  were  accustomed  to  contemplate 
a  long  succession,  an  infinite  chain,  of  angels  or  dei- 
ties, as  emanations  from  the  eternal.  The  incarna- 
tion of  a  god  was  not  out  of  the  supposed  order. 
They  were  prepared  to  receive  the  doctrine  of  a  new 
and   recent  advent  of  the  Logos.     They  were  too 


Repugnance  to  Matter.  125 

deeply  impressed  with  the  inherent  corruption  of 
matter  to  suppose  the  pure  spirit  could  come  in  di- 
rect contact  with  it.  They  sacrificed  the  humanity 
of  Christ  to  his  divinity.  While  his  blood  was  still 
recent  on  Calvary,  the  Docetes,  a  numerous  and 
learned  sect  of  Asiatics,  broached  the  system  which 
afterwards  became  famous  under  the  various  names 
of  the  Gnostic  sects.  They  summarily  denied  all 
those  parts  of  the  gospel  relating  to  the  birth  and 
youth  of  Christ,  claiming  that  he  first  appeared  on 
the  banks  of  the  Jordan  in  perfect  manhood,  but  in 
appearance  only.  He  was  an  illusion  created  by  the 
hand  of  the  Omnipotent.  The  rage  of  the  Jews  was 
wasted  on  a  phantom.  Their  Jehovah  became  trans- 
formed by  the  Gnostics  into  a  rebellious  and  igno- 
rant spirit ;  and  the  son  of  God  came  to  overthrow 
his  power.  The  Armenians  still  retain  this  belief, 
holding  that  the  manhood  only  of  Christ  existed 
without  creation  of  a  divine  substance. 

The  religious  feelings  of  the  East  connected  moral 
with  spiritual  ideas,  and  regarded  spirit  as  essentially 
pure  and  divine,  while  matter  was  inherently  corrupt 
and  evil.  Christianity  first  came  in  conflict  with 
Orientalism  at  Ephesus,  which,  working  insidiously 
into  its  structure,  threatened  to  entirely  subvert  its 
design. 

Of  these  opponents,  Cerinthus,  placed  on  the  con- 
fines of  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  worlds,  the  first  who 
admitted  the  tenets  of  Christianity,  strove  to  recon- 
cile Gnosticism  with  the  Ebionite  faith,  or  Chris- 
tianity with  Oriental  mysticism.     Christ  he  believed 


126      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

to  be  of  a  higher  order  than  those  secondary  and 
subordinate  beings  who  presided  over  the  older 
world. 

The  Father  could  not  be  contaminated  by  contact 
with  matter  necessitated  to  a  mortal  birth  and  death. 
The  visible  Christ  was  flesh  and  blood.  He  consid- 
ered him  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary ;  human,  but 
the  last  of  his  race,  to  restore  the  worship  of  the 
true  and  Supreme  Deity  at  his  baptism  in  the  Jordan. 

The  Christ,  the  first  of  the  eons,  the  son  of  God 
himself,  descended,  in  the  form  of  a  dove,  to  inhabit 
his  mind,  and  direct  his  actions  for  the  allotted  space 
of  his  ministry.  The  Christ  left  the  solitary  Jesus 
alone  to  suffer  the  agony  of  the  cross.  The  taunts 
called  forth  by  this  ingratitude  were  variously  met. 
It  was  said,  Jesus,  being  human,  deserved  to  suffer  ; 
that  he  would  be  fully  repaid,  and  that  he  was  ren- 
dered insensible  to  pain. 

The  body  and  the  spirit  furnish  a  type  of  that 
more  imposing  union  by  a  divine  power  with  a  body. 
There  is  nothing  contradictory  in  the  doctrine  of  in- 
carnation, but  the  consequences  of  its  admission 
were  dangerous  to  opposers  of  Arianism.  It  did  not 
accord  with  their  sublime  theology  to  acknowledge 
that  God  himself  was  manifested  in  the  flesh,  matur- 
ing in  foetal  growth  through  manhood,  scourged, 
crucified,  felt  the  mortal  agony,  and  expired.  Apol- 
lonius  met  the  issue  fairly,  and  admitted  in  full  its 
broadest  consequences.  He  uttered  the  memorable 
words,  still  heard  in  theological  warfare,  "One  in- 
carnate nature  of  Christ." 


Speculations  of  Gnosticism.  127 

But  his  heresies,  and  those  of  the  Ebionites  and 
Docetes,  were  proscribed ;  and  the  double  nature,  as 
taught  by  Cerinthus,  was  modified  and  received, 
fashioned  as  it  is  at  the  present  day,  —  the  substan- 
tial, indissoluble^  union  of  a  perfect  God  with  a  per- 
fect man. 

In  the  second  century,  these  doctrines,  under  the 
name  of  Gnosticism,  had  matured,  and  divided  the 
believers  in  Christianity,  and  its  dogmas  have  never 
lost  the  tinge  it  gave  them.  Its  tenets  were  sublime 
and  imposing.  The  primal  Deity  remained  aloof  in 
inapproachable  majesty.  He  was  the  unspeakable, 
the  infinite.  The  fullness  of  the  godhead,  the  Ple- 
roma,  expanded  in  ever-enlarging  circles  until  it  em- 
braced the  universe.  From  this  Pleroma  sprang  all 
spiritual  beings,  and  back  to  it  they  would  all  return. 
By  their  entanglement  with  vile  and  degrading  mat- 
ter, evil  existed,  and  all  outward  existence  had  become 
degraded.  To  restore  them  again  unsullied  to  the 
bosom  of  the  Deity,  freed  from  the  stain  of  matter, 
was  the  mission  of  Christ.  Pushing  these  fancies  to 
their  consequences,  they  were  compelled  to  reject 
the  Jewish  Jehovah,  who  could  not  be  the  father, 
but  must  be  some  inferior  God.  He  was  left  undis- 
turbed to  the  Jew.  To  them^  Christ  revealed  a  De- 
ity hitherto  unknown  in  a  world  the  creation  of  an 
inferior  being.  The  whole  school  of  Gnostics  were 
perplexed  at  the  human  nature  of  Christ.  They 
seized  on  the  distinctiveness  of  his  divine  and  hu- 
man natures.  Even  the  virginity  of  his  mother  pol- 
luted him,  and   the   union  was  offensive   to  them. 


128     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

They  escaped  by  suffering :  the  divine  came  down 
on  the  man  Jesus  at  his  baptism,  and  ascended  after 
his  death.  The  Christ  whom  men  saw  was  but  a 
phantom. 

Influenced  by  the  spirit  of  Gnosticism,  Celsus, 
supposed  to  have  been  an  Epicurean  philosopher, 
living  towards  the  close  of  the  second  century,  urged 
many  cogent  reasons  against  the  Christian's  ideas  of 
divinity.  The  pictures  they  drew  of  God's  vengeance 
were,  to  him,  very  offensive  ;  for  the  philosophers  de- 
lighted to  represent  the  Supreme  as  incapable  of  mor- 
tal passions.  Nor  could  he  be  reconciled  with  the 
idea  that  the  Logos  could  have  been  born  of  woman. 
He  also  objected  to  the  pure  anthropomorphic  idea 
of  creation  entertained  by  the  Church  :  "  It  is  not 
for  man,  more  than  for  lions  and  eagles,  that  every- 
thing was  created.  It  was  in  order  that  the  world, 
as  the  work  of  God,  might  present  a  perfect  whole. 
God  provides  only  for  the  whole  ;  and  that  his  prov- 
idence never  deserts.  This  world  never  becomes 
worse.  God  does  not  return  to  it  after  a  long  inter- 
val. He  is  as  little  angry  with  man  as  with  apes 
and  flies.  The  universe  has  been  provided,  once  for 
all,  with  all  the  powers  necessary  for  its  preservation, 
and  for  developing  itself  after  the  same  laws.  God 
has  not,  like  a  human  architect,  so  executed  his 
work  that  at  some  future  period  it  would  need  to  be 
repaired." 

He  placed  the  Supreme  Being  above  the  world 
and  all  created  things,  and  regarded  the  worship  of 
different  gods  as  only  the  varying  expression  of  the  • 


Origin  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  129 

same  worship.  "  The  unity  of  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing remains,  even  if  it  be  admitted  that  each  na- 
tion has  its  gods,  whom  it  must  worship  in  a 
certain  manner,  according  to  its  peculiar  charac- 
ter; and  the  worship  of  all  these  different  dei- 
ties is  reflected  back  to  the  Supreme  God,  who 
has  appointed  them,  as  it  were,  his  delegates 
and  representatives.  Those  who  argue  that  men 
ought  not  to  serve  many  masters,  impute  human 
weakness  to  God.  He  is  not  jealous  of  the  adora- 
tion paid  to  subordinate  deities.  His  nature  is  su- 
perior to  degradation  and  insult.  Reason  itself 
might  justify  the  belief  in  the  inferior  deities,  the 
objects  of  established  worship.  For,  since  the  Su- 
preme Being  can  only  produce  that  which  is  immor- 
tal and  imperishable,  the  existence  of  mortal  beings 
cannot  be  explained  unless  we  distinguish  from  him 
those  inferior  deities,  and  suppose  them  to  be  the 
creators  of  mortal  beings  and  of  perishable  things." 

Some  difficulty  was  encountered  in  the  evolution 
of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and,  with  the  difficulty,  its  seem- 
ing importance  grew  in  tenfold  ratio.  Did  it  origi- 
nate with  the  Father  or  Son }  This  was  a  vexed 
question  with  the  early  converts.  It  could  not  come 
from  the  Father ;  for  in  that  case  the  Logos  and 
Spirit  would  be  brothers,  and  it  was  affirmed  that  the 
Logos  was  the  only-begotten.  But  to  have  it  pro- 
ceed from  the  Son  would  make  God  its  grandfather. 
Nevertheless  a  sect  was  established  on  the  last  hy- 
pothesis. 

Ambrose  thus  decides  the  query  satisfactorily  to 


1 30     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

himself:  "The  holy  individual  trinity  never  does 
anything  separately.  The  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Spirit  created  the  body  of  Christ.  The  Father,  be- 
cause it  is  said,  "  God  sent  his  Son  made  of  a  wo- 
man ;  the  Son,  because  it  is  said,  "  Wisdom  has 
builded  her  house  ; "  the  Spirit,  because  "  Mary  was 
with  child  by  a  Spirit."  That  the  spirit  was  a  per- 
sonality, was  considered  fully  proved  by  its  taking 
on  the  form  of  a  dove  at  the  baptism  of  Christ. 

Endless  theological  discussions  occurred  and  end- 
ed in  still  more  completely  befogging  the  disputants, 
who  wandered  over  the  trackless  desert  in  an  ever- 
returning  circle. 

The  cradle  of  churchianity  was  rocked  by  these 
childish  disputations,  which  were  simply  a  war  of 
words,  enlivened  by  the  phantom  of  ideas. 

After  centuries  of  angry  combat,  not  always  con- 
fined to  words,  and  the  repeated  resolutions  of  coun- 
cils, the  Platonic  trinity  became  the  Orthodox 
creed  :  as  might  have  been  predicted  from  the  first ; 
for,  granting  the  premises,  it  was  the  only  logical 
solution  of  the  incomprehensible  problem. 


VII. 

THE    GOD-IDEA    OF     THE    LATER     PHILOSOPHERS. 

There  is  one  God.  —  Mohammed. 
God  is  Love.  —  Jesus. 

The  great  Positive  Mind  of  the  universe,  —  Father  God  and  Mother  Na- 
ture.— A.  J.  Davis. 

FROM  the  great  struggle  between  Athanasius 
and  Arius,  the  ascendency  of  the  former,  and 
triumph  of  the  mysterious  doctrine  of  the  trinity,  to 
the  present,  little  advance  has  been  made  in  the 
development  of  the  god-idea.  As  established  by  the 
early  Catholic  councils,  it  has  descended  unchanged. 
The  history  of  its  career  would  be  a  barren  and 
tedious  repetition  of  unintelligible  formulas  and  un- 
meaning distinctions.  Whenever  a  belief  becomes 
a  creed,  and  that  creed  sacred  and  infallible,  there 
is  an  end  to  progress.  During  this  bleak  interval 
outside  of  the  Church,  a  few  thinkers  have  endeav- 
ored to  gain  the  truth,  but  they  have  generally 
made  the  attempt  entirely  independent  of  estab- 
lished beliefs. 

Previous  to  the  revival  of  learning  in  Europe,  or 
for  the  space  of  the  whole  millennium,  the  question 
was  discussed  theologically,  and  the  chatter  of  a 
flock  of  jays  would  be  as  interesting  and  c[uite  as 
intelligible. 


re 


\ 


132    Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

With  the  revival  of  learning,  really  great  and 
earnest  thinkers,  though  treating  it  in  a  metaphysical 
manner,  explored  its  profound  depths,  and  exhausted 
an  amount  of  labor  and  research  that  in  any  other 
field  would  have  been  richly  rewarded. 

Giardino  Bruno  taught  a  pure  Pantheism,  and  no- 
bly met  the  flames  prepared  by  an  enraged  priest- 
hood, who  sought  to  blot  out  his  truths  with  his  life's 
blood. 

God  to  him  was  the  infinite  intelligence,  the  cause 
of  causes,  the  principle  of  all  life  and  mind  ;  the  great 
activity,  whose  action  we  name  the  universe.  But 
God  did  not  create  the  universe  :  he  informed  it  with 
life,  with  being.  He  is  the  universe  ;  but  only  as 
the  cause  is  the  effect, — sustaining  it,  causing  it,  but 
not  limited  by  it.  He  is  self-existing,  yet  so  essen- 
tially active  as  incessantly  to  manifest  himself  as  a 
cause.  Between  the  Supreme  Being,  and  the  infe- 
rior beings  dependent  upon  him,  there  is  this  dis- 
tinction :  He  is  absolutely  simple,  without  parts ; 
he  is  one  whole,  identical  and  universal :  whereas 
the  others  are  mere  individual  parts,  distinct  from 
the  great  whole.  Above  and  beyond  the  visible 
universe  there  is  an  infinite  invisible,  —  an  immova- 
ble, unalterable  identity,  which  rules  over  all  diver- 
sity. This  being  of  beings,  this  unity  of  unities,  is 
God  :  "  Deus  est  monadum  monas,  nempe  entium  en- 
titas" 

Bruno  says,  that,  although  it  is  impossible  to 
conceive  nature  separated  from  God,  we  can  con- 
ceive God  separated  from  nature.    The  Infinite  Be- 


speculations  of  Bruno.  133 

ing  is  the  essential  centre  and  substance  of  the  uni-\ 
verse,  but  he  is  above  the  essence  and  substance  of    I 
all  things  :  he  is  superessentialis,  supersubstantialis.  / 
Thus  we  cannot  conceive  a  thought  independent  of 
a  mind,  but  we  can  conceive  a  mind  apart  from  any 
one  thought.     The  universe  is  a  thought  of  God's \v 
mind:  nay,  more,  it  is  the  infinite  activity  of  his  y'^ 
mind.     To  suppose  the  world  finite  is  to  limit  his 
power.     "  Wherefore  should  we  imagine  that  the  di- 
vine activity  ija  divina  cfficacid)  is  idle  .''     Wherefore 
should  we  say  that  the  divine  goodness,  which  can 
communicate  itself  ad  injimtfim,  and  infinitely  dif- 
fuse itself,  is  willing  to  restrict  itself.''     Why  should 
his  infinite  capacity  be  frustrated,  defrauded  of  its 
possibility   to   create   infinite   worlds .-'      And   why 
should  we  deface  the  excellence  of  the  divine  image, 
which  should  rather  reflect  itself  in  an  infinite  mir- 
ror, as  his  nature  is  infinite  and  immense  } "  * 

Descartes'  demonstration  of  the  existence  of  God 
has  become  famous.  It  is  thus  presented  in  the  form 
of  a  syllogism. 

All  that  we  clearly  and  distinctly  conceive  as  con- 
tained in  anything  is  true  of  that  thing.f 

Now  we  conceive  clearly  and  distinctly,  that  the"\  . 
existence  of  God  is  contained  in  the  idea  we  have     y\ 
of  him.     Ergo,  God  exists.  ^ 

This  may  satisfy  a  metaphysician,  but  it  has  no 
positive  element  of  certainty.  Spinoza  arose  from 
the  study  of  Descartes,  and,  looking  at  nature,  asked 

*  Del'  Infinito,  opp.  Ital.  ii.  24.        f  Lewes. 


1 34     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

what  meant  the  ever-flowing  tide  of  change.  It  was 
all  phenomenal,  depending  on  external  change  or 
the  state  of  the  perceiving  mind.  Under  the  phe- 
nomeita,  must  be  a  noumenon.  The  reality  of  all  ex- 
istence is  substance ;  not  gross  materiality,  but  the 
substance  which  stands  under  all  things.  What  this 
substance  is  of  itself,  we  can  never  know,  because 
to  know  it  would  be  to  bring  it  under  forms  and 
conditions  of  the  mind,  and  thus  make  it  a  phenom- 
ena. 
/  Spinoza,  while  admitting  an  intelligence  acting 
in  and  forming  a  part  of  matter,  supposed  that  it 
was  neither  thought  nor  extent  exclusively  of  each 
other,  although  both  were  its  necessary  attributes. 
Descartes,  in  common  with  most  philosophers,  as- 
sumed a  duality,  —  God,  and  a  world  created  by  God. 
Spinoza  affirmed  that  extension  and  thought  were 
only  attributes  of  matter,  and  by  subtile  sympathies 
reduced  the  duality  to  a  unity,  an  infinite  one. 

God  is  the  absolute  substance.  From  him  arises 
all  existence.  He  is  the  fountain  from  which  flows 
the  endless  successions  of  living  forms.  The  uni- 
verse is  a  simple  manifestation.  The  finite  reposes 
on  the  bosom  of  the  Infinite.  There  is  but  one  re- 
ality, and  that  is  God. 

Lewes  thus  laconically  presents  the  Spinozian 
speculations  on  God. 

There  is  but  one  infinite  substance,  and  that  is 

God.      Whatever  is,  is  in  God  ;  and,  without  him, 

!    nothing  can  be  conceived.     He  is  the  universal  be- 

\  ing,  of  which  all  things  are  the  manifestations.     He 


speculations  of  Spinoza.  135 

is  the  sole  substance  :  everything  else  is  a  mode ;  yet, 
without  substance,  mode  cannot  exist.  God,  viewed- 
under  the  attributes  of  infinite  substance,  is  the  nat- 
ura  naturans :  viewed  as  a  manifestation,  as  the 
modes  under  which  his  attributes  appear,  he  is  the 
natura  naturata.  He  is  the  cause  of  all  things  ;  and 
that  immanently,  but  not  transiently.  He  has  two 
infinite  attributes,  —  extension  and  thought.  Exten- 
sion is  visible  thought,  and  thought  is  invisible  ex- 
tension :  they  are  the  objective  and  subjective  of 
which  God  is  the  identity.  Every  thing  is  a  mode 
of  God's  attribute  of  extension  ;  every  thought,  wish, 
or  feeling,  a  mode  of  his  attribute  of  thought.  That 
extension  and  thought  are  not  substances,  as  Des- 
cartes maintained,  is  obvious  from  this :  that  they 
are  not  conceived /^r  se,  but  per  aliud.  Something 
is  extended  :  what  is  .-•  Not  the  extension  itself,  but 
something  prior  to  it ;  viz.,  substance.  Substance  is 
uncreated,  but  creates  by  the  internal  necessity  of 
its  nature.  There  may  be  many  existing  thinggf\ 
but  only  one  existence  ;  many  forms,  but  only  one 
substance.  God  is  the  idea  immanens,  the  one  and 
all 

Spinoza  has  been  charged  with  atheism  by  those 
who  misunderstood  his  obscure  sentences,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  suifer  persecutions  for  ideas  which 
would  have  met  a  better  fate  had  they  been  clearly 
expressed.  His  profession  of  faith  reads  like  that  of 
Fenelon,  rather  than  of  the  cold  atheistical  philoso- 
pher :  — 

"  If  I  also  concluded  that  the  idea  of  God,  com- 


1 36     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

prised  in  that  of  the  infinity  of  the  universe,  released 
one  from  obedience,  love,  and  worship,  I  should  make 
a  still  more  pernicious  use  of  my  reason  ;  for  it  is 
evident  to  me  that  the  laws  which  I  have  received, 
not  by  the  relation  or  intervention  of  other  men,  but 
immediately  from  him,  are  those  which  the  light  of 
nature  points  out  to  me  as  the  true  guides  of  a  ra- 
tional conduct.  If  I  failed  in  obedience  in  this  par- 
ticular, I  should  sin,  not  only  against  the  principle 
of  my  being,  and  the  society  of  any  kind,  but  also 
against  myself,  in  depriving  myself  of  the  most  solid 
advantage  of  my  existence." 

"  With  regard  to  the  love  of  God,  so,  I  conceive, 
is  this  idea  from  tending  to  weaken  it,  that  it  is  more 
calculated  to  increase  it,  —  since,  through  it,  I  know 
that  God  is  intimate  with  my  being  ;  that  he  gives 
me  existence  and  my  every  property :  but  he  gives 
them  liberally,  without  reproach,  without  interest, 
without  subjecting  me  to  anything  but  my  own  na- 
ture. It  banishes  fear,  weariness,  distrust,  and  all 
the  effects  of  a  vulgar  and  interested  love.  It  in- 
forms me,  that  this  is  a  good  which  I  cannot  lose, 
and  which  I  possess  the  more  fully  as  I  know  and 
love  it." 

It  may  be  placed  with  the  singular  freaks  of  hu- 
man judgment,  that,  with  this  refined  idea  of  every- 
thing being  an  extension  of  God,  Spinoza  rejected 
the  doctrine  of  final  causes.  Perhaps  on  this  ac- 
count he  received  the  designation  of  an  atheist. 

Schelling  thought  the  whole  value  of  science  was 
in  its  speculations,  meaning  by  that  term  the  con- 


Schelling  and  Fichte.  137 

templation  of  God  as  he  exists.     Reason,  inasmuch 
as  it  affirms  God,  cannot  affirm  anything  else,  and 
annihilates  itself  at  the  same  time  as  an  individual 
existence  as  anything  out  of  God.     Thought  is  not 
any  thought,  and  being  is  not  any  being ;  for  every- 
thing belongs  to  God  or  the  all.     If  nothing  exists^ 
out  of  God,  then  must  the  knowledge  of  God  be  only  \ 
the  infinite  knowledge  which  God  has  of  himself  in  j 
the  eternal  self-affirmation.     God  is  not  the  highest,/ 
but  the  only  one.     He  is  not  to  be  viewed  as  the 
summit  or  the  end ;   but  as  the  centre,  as    the  all 
in  all.     Consequently  there  is  no  such  thing  as  be- 
ing lifted   up   to   the  knowledge  of  God ;  but  the 
knowledge  is  immediate  recognition.  * 

Fichte  rejected  design.  He  rejected  the  world  as 
the  objective  existence  of  the  Ego  ;  and  in  that  man- 
ner we  are,  ourselves,  creators  of  it.  Design  being 
applicable  to  finite  things  is  wholly  inapplicable  to 
the  infinite. 

"  God,"  says  Fichte,  "  must  be  believed  in,  not  in- 
ferred. Faith  is  the  ground  of  all  conviction,  scien- 
tific or  moral.  Why  do  you  believe  in  the  existence 
of  the  world  "i  It  is  nothing  more  than  the  incarna- 
tion of  that  which  you  carry  within  you,  yet  you 
believe  in  it.  In  the  same  way  God  exists  in  your 
consciousness,  and  you  believe  in  him.  He  is  the 
moral  order  of  the  world  :  as  such,  we  can  know  him, 
and  only  be  as  such.  For,  if  we  attempt  to  attribute 
to  him  intelligence  or  personality,  we  at  once  neces- 
sarily fall  into  anthropomorphism.     God  is  infinite  ; 

*  Jahrbucher  der  Medicin.    Quoted  by  Lewes. 


T  38     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

therefore  beyond  the  reach  of  our  science,  which 
can  only  embrace  the  finite,  but  not  beyond  our 
faith." 

We  realize  God  by  doing  our  duty.  True  religion 
is  the  realization  of  the  universal  reason.  If  we  had 
perfect  liberty,  we  should  be  one.  If  we  had  the 
same  conditions,  we  should  be  one  in  thought,  there 
would  be  but  one  will,  and  perfect  harmony.  *  This 
grand  result  should  be  the  aim  of  mankind. 

Hegel,  in  his  "  Philosophy  of  Religion,"  applies  his 
method  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  nature 
of  God.  He  accepts  the  trinity,  with  his  interpre- 
tation. God  the  Father  is  the  eternal  idea,  or  un- 
conditioned abstraction ;  God  the  Son,  engendered  by 
the  father,  is  a  conditioned  reality  ;  "  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  identity  of  the  two,  the  negation  of  the 
negation  and  perfect  totality  of  existence."  God  the 
Father  existed  before  the  world,  and  created  it.  He 
created  it  because  it  is  the  essence  of  his  being  to 
create.  He  creates  not  by  an  act,  but  an  eternal 
moment :  he  is  forever  creating.  It  is  through  crea- 
tion that  the  abstraction  passes  into  activity.  It  is 
the  realization  of  God. 

Voltaire  affirmed  that  the  knowledge  of  a  God  was 
not  impressed  upon  us  by  the  hand  of  nature,  else 
we  should  all  have  the  same  idea.  This  knowledge 
does  not  come  like  our  perceptions  of  light,  or  the 
earth,  which  we  receive  as  soon  as  our  understand- 
ings are  awakened  ;  nor  is  it  a  philosophical  idea, 

*  Sittenlehre.    Gerichtliche  Verautwortung  ss  chriften  ge- 
■  gen  die  Auklage  des  Atheismus. 


Voltaire  on  a  Final  Cause,  139 

for  men  believe  in  a  God  before  they  become  phi- 
losophers. 

The  idea  is  derived  from  that  natural  logic  which 
is  met  with  among  the  rudest  of  mankind. 

Our  idea  of  divinity  is  wholly  inadequate  ;  and,  as 
we  pass  from  conjecture  to  conjecture,  we  find  few 
certainties.     "  There  is  something :  therefore  there\ 
is  something  eternal,  for  nothing  is  produced  from    \ 
nothing.    Here  is  a  certain  truth  on  which  the  mind     | 
reposes.    Every  work  which  shows  us  means  and  an 
end  announces  a  workman  :  then  this  universe,  com- 
posed of  springs,  of  means,  each  of  which  has  its 
end,  discerns  a  most  mighty,  a  most  intelligent  work- 
man.    Here  is  a  probability  approaching-  the  great- 
est certainty." 

While  Voltaire  was  thus  easily  satisfied  with  the 
reasoning  fully  developed  by  Paley,  that  of  a  final 
cause,  he  could  not  believe  this  being  capable  of  cre- 
ating matter,  and  quoted  the  Grecian  philosophers 
to  sustain  his  position.  But  here  arose  an  unfortu- 
nate dilemma.  If  God  and  matter  existed  independ- 
ently, there  are  two  necessary  beings  ;  and,  if  there 
are  two,  there  may  be  thirty.  With  this  strange 
inference,  he  acknowledges,  with  Cicero,  his  own 
ignorance,  and  the  vanity  of  the  discussion. 

He  could  not  understand  how  Spinoza  could  re-, 
ject  final  causes.  "  If  this  infinite  universal  being  ^"\ 
thinks,  must  he  not  have  design  }  If  he  has  design,  | 
must  he  not  have  a  will }  Spinoza  says.  We  are  / 
modes  of  that  absolute,  necessary,  infinite  being.  I  / 
say  to  Spinoza,  We  will,  and  have  designs,  we  who 


1 40     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

are  but  modes  ;  therefore  this  infinite,  necessary, 
absolute  being  cannot  be  deprived  of  them  ;  there- 
fore he  has  will,  design,  power."  * 

Doubter  as  he  was,  he  could  not,  as  he  declares, 
deny  that  the  eye  was  made  to  see,  the  stomach  to 
digest,  etc.  "  For  my  part,  I  see  in  nature,  as  in 
the  arts,  only  final  causes ;  and  I  believe  that  an  ap- 
ple-tree is  made  to  bear  apples,  as  I  believe  that  a 
watch  is  made  to  tell  the  hour."  f 

Voltaire  was  unquestionably  a  great  thinker,  but 
he  could  not  escape  the  ideas  of  his  age.  Had  he 
known  the  wonderful  developments  of  science  made 
within  the  last  fifty  years,  he  might  perhaps  have 
had  his  implicit  faith  in  the  similarity  of  appearance 
shaken.  There  is  not  the  remotest  analogy  between 
the  apple-tree  and  a  watch,  between  the  design  man- 
ifested in  one  and  that  of  the  other.  Growth  by 
natural  laws  and  artificial  construction  have  nothing 
in  common,  and  their  similarity  is  only  superficial. 

A  careful  investigation  of  all  Voltaire  has  said 
about  God  would  lead  us  to  conclude,  that,  after  all, 
he  refined  God  to  "truth  itself;"  but  the  anecdote 
with  which  he  illustrates  his  position  leaves  us  un- 
decided, whether  to  believe  him  to  have  been  a 
theist,  or  an  .atheist  whose  theism  was  only  as- 
sumed. 

"  I  had  just  built  a  closet  at  the  end  of  my  garden 
when  I  heard  a  mole  arguing  thus  with  an  ant :  — 
"  Here  is  a  fine  fabric,"  said  the  mole :  "  it  must 
have  been  a  very  powerful  mole  that  performed  this 

♦Phil.  Die.  ii.  381.        \Vo. 


Failure  of  Voltaire,  141 

work."  — "  You  jest,"  returned  the  ant :  "  the  archi- 
tect of  this  edifice  is  an  ant  of  mighty  genius." 

With  this  seemingly  close  appreciation  of  the  sit- 
uation, Voltaire  consented  to  become  like  the  ant 
or  mole,  and,  when  gazing  over  creation,  see  only  the 
work  of  a  final  cause,  and  insult  with  satire,  which 
came  from  the  meanness  of  a  narrow  soul,  those  who 
did  not  receive  it. 

Swedenborg,  notwithstanding  his  illumination,  ac- 
cepted the  trinity  in  its  grossest  form.  "  The  trinity, 
then,  is  in  and  from  Jesus  Christ,  the  new  name  of 
our  God.  The  Father  is  his  divine  love  ;  the  Son  is 
his  divine  wisdom,  —  that  is  to  say,  the  divinely 
human  form  in  which  he  is  self-adapted  to  his 
creatures,  or  a  personal  God ;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the 
influence  which  he  communicates  to  churches.  This 
trinity  is  imaged  in  the  soul,  body,  and  operation  of 
every  man.  The  Father  is  inaccessible  to  us  out  of 
Christ,  even  as  our  own  souls  are  not  to  be  reached 
by  others  except  through  our  bodies."  The  Father 
entered  the  world  by  real  means,  by  the  gates  of 
generation,  and  became  incarnate  through  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  Every  human  soul  experiences  the  same 
changes,  and  the  end  is  the  same,  the  passions  are 
subdued  by  the  trials  of  this  life,  and  the  pure  divin- 
ity arises  into  the  next  life. 

The  idea  of  God  is  thus  expressed  in  the  articles 
of  faith  of  the  New  Church :  "  That  Jehovah  God  is 
the  creator  and  preserver  of  heaven  and  earth,  is 
love  itself,  and  wisdom  itself,  a  God  itself,  and  truth 
itself:  that  he  is  one  both  in  essence  and  in  person; 


142     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

in  whom,  nevertheless,  is  the  divine  trinity  of  Father 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  which  are  the  essential  divin- 
ity, the  divine  humanity,  and  the  divine  proceeding, 
answering  to  the  soul,  the  body,  and  the  operative 
energy,  in  man  ;  and  that  the  Lord  and  Saviour  Je- 
sus Christ  is  that  God." 

"  Man,  it  is  clear,  must  think  of  God  as  a  man  ; 
must  think  from  his  own  experience  towards  divine 
virtues  ;  from  his  own  deeds  towards  God's  deeds, 
which  are  creation.  The  must  in  this  case  is  a  ne- 
cessity of  our  being ;  which  is  the  same  thing  as  to 
say,  that  it  is  God's  ordinance,  and  the  true  method. 
It  is  therefore  a  verity  substantial  as  our  souls ;  nay, 
consubstantial  with  their  Maker.  No  idealism  then 
here  intervenes  ;  but  we  touch  the  solidity  of  eternal 
truth,  and  in  our  minds  and  bodies  we  have  an  at- 
testation and  vision  of  the  Creator.  But,  if  God  be 
the  infinite  man,  the  universe  which  proceeds  from 
him  must  represent  man  in  an  image,  and  all  the 
creatures  must  likewise  so  represent.  Mineral,  vege- 
table, and  animal  forms,  —  nay,  atmospheres,  planets, 
and  suns, — are  then  nothing  less  than  so  many  means 
and  tendencies  to  man,  on  different  stages  of  the 
transit ;  and  finite  man  resumes  them  all,  proclaims 
visibly  their  end,  and  may  connect  them  with  their 
fountain.  It  is  throughout  a  system  of  correspond- 
ences, all  depending  upon  the  activity  of  a  personal 
God,  as  the  substance  of  the  latter  depends  upon  the 
intervention  of  God  ih  history,  as  Jesus  Christ.  Re- 
move from  the  centre  of  the  system  the  position  that 
God  is  a  man,  and  he  becomes  necessarily  unintelli- 


speculations  of  Swedenborg.  143 

gible  to  mankind.  He  has  made  them  think  of  him 
otherwise  than  he  is.  They  communicate  with  him  by 
no  religion ;  but  the  beginning  of  their  knowledge  is 
darkness,  its  object  a  mere  notion,  and  their  love  falls 
into  a  void, — there  is,  in  short,  no  correspondence  be- 
tween the  Creator  and  any  creature.  Maintain,  how- 
ever, that  master  position ;  and  humanity  is  the  way 
to  the  divine  humanity,  the  high  road  of  the  living 
truth. 

"  The  path  by  which  God  passes  through  heaven 
into  nature  is  laid  down  in  distinct  degrees,  and  '  the 
doctrine  of  degrees'  furnishes  a  principal  interest 
with  Swedenborg  in  these  elucidations.  Degrees 
are  the  separate  steps  of  forms  or  substances,  the 
measured  walk  of  the  creative  forces.  Thus  the  will 
in  one  degree  is  the  understanding  in  the  next,  and 
the  body  in  the  third ;  the  animal  in  the  highest  is 
the  vegetable  in  the  second,  and  the  mineral  in  the 
lowest ;  and  all  these  are  one,  like  soul  and  body, 
and  are  united,  and  each  uses  the  lower,  by  the  han- 
dles of  its  harmony  with  inferior  utilities, — just  as  a 
man  is  united  with,  and  makes  use  of,  the  various 
instruments  which  extend  the  powers  of  his  mind 
and  arms  through  nature.  The  world,  therefore,  is 
full  of  interval  and  freedom  ;  and  in  the  movements 
of  each  creature,  whereby  it  lays  hold  of  whatever 
supports  it,  the  whole  becomes  actively  one,  and 
marches  forward  in  the  realms  of  use,  where  it  meets 
the  omnipotent  again." 

Thus  traversing  the  gulf  of  almost  two  millenni- 
ums, bridged  as  it  were  by  the  great  thinkers,  we 


1 44     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

find,  that,  after  bestowing  their  best  thoughts  on  the 
subject,  they  have  arrived  at  no  satisfactory  results  ; 
not  even  satisfied  themselves. 

The  doctrines  which  the  Church  is  supposed  to 
receive  with  unquestioning  faith  were  once  in  the 
most  unsettled  state  ;  and  not  by  reason,  but  by  the 
arbitrary  decrees  of  councils  and  synods,  often  meet- 
ing with  drawn  swords,  were  their  inspired  character 
determined. 


VIII. 

THE    GOD-IDEA    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  pres- 
ence ?  If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there.  If  I  make  my  bed 
in  hell,  behold  thou  art  there. 

Through  God  we  shall  do  valiantly :  for  he  it  is  that  shall  tread  down  our 
enemies.  —  Psalms. 

For  in  him  we  live,  move,  and  have  our  being.  —  Paul. 

THE  necessity  for  a  divine  revelation  is  supposed 
to  exist  on  account  of  the  fallen  and  corrupt 
condition  of  mankind,  *  If  this  revelation  super- 
sedes reason  and  nature,  and  flows  from  an  infalli- 
ble source,  it  must  present  a  perfect  view  of  the  di- 
vine Being.  If  we  examine  it  critically,  in  the  same 
unprejudiced  manner  that  we  do  any  other  book,  we 
shall  find  that  such  is  not  the  fact.  It  bears  the  un- 
mistakable evidence  of  human  origin.  If  God  gave 
a  revelation  to  Moses,  and  another  to  Paul,  he  would 
represent  himself  the  same  in  both.  The  Bible 
should  be  a  unit  throughout,  although  its  inspired 
writers  were  scattered  over  a  thousand  years.  We 
find,  sad  fact,  the  very  reverse.  It  is  a  book  com- 
posed of  many  fragments ;  and  each  of  these  con- 
tains, not  the  absolute  view  of  God,  but  the  writer's 

*  Diet,  of  Bible,  by  Rev.  John  Brown.     Edinburgh.     293, 


146     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

ideas  of  God.  Man  changes  ;  the  ages  come  and  go, 
bringing  new  ideas  :  but  God  is  eternal.  The  rude 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  disciples,  thought 
far  differently  from  each  other.  They  wrote  differ- 
ently. Hence  the  Bible  is  contradictory  ;  and,  if  we 
ask  it  to  give  us  the  character  and  attributes  of  God, 
it  gives  him  the  most  diverse  and  conflicting  attri- 
butes. If  called  on  to  decide  the  unity  or  trinity  of 
the  Godhead,  it  yields  many  texts  for  both,  though 
more  strongly  favoring  the  latter.  He  is  repre- 
sented as  satisfied  with  his  works,  and  as  dissatis- 
fied ;  *  as  dwelling  in  temples,  and  as  not :  f  as  dwell- 
ing in  light,  and  in  darkness :  %  as  seen  and  heard, 
and  as  impossible  to  be  seen  or  heard :  §  as  being 
weary,  and  resting ;  and  as  never  requiring  rest :  ||  as 
being  omnipresent  and  all-knowing,  and  as  limited  in 
presence  and  knowledge :  ^  as  being  all-powerful,  and 
the  reverse:**  as  changeable,  and  unchangeable :  tt 
as  just  and  impartial,  and  unjust  and  partial :  %%  as 
the  author  of  evil,  and  as  not  the  author :  §§  as  war- 
like, and  as  peaceful :  |1 1|  as  cruel,  unmerciful,  destruc- 

♦  Compare  Gen.  i.  31,  with  Gen.  vi.  6. 
•f  Comp.  2  Chr.  vii.  12,  with  Acts  vii.  48. 
X  Comp.  I  Tim.  vi.  16,  with  I  Kings  viii.  12. 
§  Comp.  Ex.  xxxiii.  11,  with  John  i.  18. 

II  Comp.  Ex.  xxxi.  17,  with  Is.  xl.  28. 

T[  Comp.  Prov.  xv.  3,  Job  xxxiv.  22,  with  Gen.  xviii.  20,  21, 
Gen.  iii.  8. 

**  Comp.  Matt.  xix.  26,  with  Judges  i.  19. 
ft  Comp.  Gen.  vi.  6,  with  Sam.  i.  17. 

XX  Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  4,  with  Sam.  ix.  25,  and  Matt.  xiii.  12. 
§§  Comp.  Is.  xlv.  7,  with  i  Cor.  xiv.  33. 

III  Comp.  Ex.  XV.  3,  with  Rom.  xv.  33. 


God  of  the  Bible.  147 

tive,  and  ferocious  ;  and  as  kind,  merciful,  and  good :  * 
as  being  vindictively  angry  and  unforgiving,  and 
as  merciful,  f 

With  true  heathen  relish,  he  is  described  as  de- 
lighting in  burnt-offerings,  sacrifices,  and  the  observ- 
ance of  holy  days ;  and  again,  when  a  sudden  gleam 
of  spirituality  pierces  the  darkness,  as  disapproving 
all  of  these  :  %  as  accepting  human  sacrifice,  and  for- 
bidding it :  §  he  is  also  described  as  tempting  man, 
as  lying  and  deceiving ;  and  again  as  neither  lying 
nor  deceiving.  ||  The  unity  and  plurality  of  gods  are 
both  indorsed  by  the  Bible.  \  The  Creator,  repre- 
sented as  the  author  of  all  things,  is  an  eternal  spir- 
it, infinite,  omnipresent,  **  almighty,  perfectly  good, 
merciful  sincere,  faithful ;  who  upholds  and  governs 
all  things,  good  or  bad.  It  shows  us  that  this  Crea- 
tor subsists,  of  his  own  simple  and  undivided  essence, 
in  three  distinct  persons,  —  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost ;  "the  same  in  substance,  and  equal  in  all 
divine  power  and  glory." 

The  Father  is  the  true  God,  that  from  eternity  be- 
gat his  only  son,  f  f  consulted  with  and  fore-ordained 

*  Comp.  Jer.  xiii.  14,  with  Sam.  v.  11. 
t  Comp.  Jer.  xvii.  4,  with  Ps.  ciii.  8. 

X  Comp.  Ex.  xxix.  36,  Lev.  xxiii.  27,  i.  9,  with  Jer.  vi.  20, 
Ps.  V.  13,  14,  Is.  i.  13. 

§  Comp.  2  Sam.  xxi.  8,  9,  14,  Judg.  xi.  30-39,  with  Deut. 
xii.  30,  31. 

II  Comp.  Gen,  xxii.  i,  i  Kings  xxii.  23,  with  Heb,  vi.  18,  James 
i.  13. 
\  Deut.  vi.  4,  Gen.  i.  26,  i  John  v.  7. 
**  Job  xi.  7. 
tt  Ps.  ii.  7- 


148     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  He  sent 
him  into  the  world,*  supported  him  through  his 
earthly  struggle,  speaking  in  and  working  through 
him,  t  gave  him  up  to  death,  and  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  and  crowned  and  gave  him  all  power  in 
heaven. 

The  Son  is  equal  to  the  Father  as  a  person,  %  but 
one  in  essence.  He  is  called  God,  the  only  god, 
the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords  ;  and  all  the  di- 
vine attributes  of  omnipotence,  omnipresence,  and 
unchangeableness,  are  ascribed  to  him.  § 

Though,  as  son,  he  is  equal  to  the  Father,  through 
his  human  nature,  as  mediator,  he  is  inferior.  In 
that  state,  he  undertakes  to  pay  our  debts,  and  ful- 
fills the  obligation.  He  is  the  husband,  shepherd, 
friend,  and  physician,  the  all-in-all,  to  his  people. 

Christ  is  God  and  man,  united  so  as  to  enable  him 
to  be  a  true  mediator  between  the  infinite  and  finite. 

The  Holy  Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father  and 
Son.  II  He  is  omnisicent,  omnipresent,  and  al- 
mighty. ^  He  is  recognized,  not  as  an  energy,  but 
as  a  person,  reproving,  executing,  and  being  grieved. 

Such  is  the  trinity  as  recorded  in  the  Bible,  and 
received  by  all  Orthodox  Christians.  Its  mystery 
they  do  not  attempt  to  solve  ;  but  receive  it  with  a 
blind,  uncriticising  faith. 

*  Luke  i,  35. 
t  John  V.  19-22. 
X  Zech.  xiii.  7. 

§.Matt.  xviii.  20,  xxviii.  20,  Phil.  Hi.  21,  Heb.  xiii.  8. 
II  John  XV.  26. 
\  \  Cor.  ii.  lo,  II,  Eph.  ii.  17, 18,  Luke  i.  35. 


God  of  the  Bible.  149 

But  the  Unitarians  claim  the  Bible  furnishes  ab- 
solute proof  that  God  is  one.  Christ  is  the  son  of 
God,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  power  and  divine  in- 
fluence of  God,  They  hold  that  the  early  fathers  for 
the  first  three  centuries  were  on  their  side,  and  that 
the  Bible  has  received  its  trinitarian  cast  from  con- 
tact with  pagan  philosophy. 

Justin  Martyr,  the  most  distinguished  and  the 
earliest  writer  next  to  the  apostles,  says,  "  We  wor- 
ship God  the  maker  of  the  universe,  offering  up  to 
him  prayers  and  thanks.  But  assigning  to  Jesus, 
who  came  to  teach  us  these  things,  and  for  this  end 
was  born,  the  *  second  place '  after  God,  we  not  with- 
out reason  honor  him." 

From  the  beginning  to  the  present,  the  discussion 
of  the  unity  and  trinity  of  the  Godhead  has  more  or 
less  disturbed  the  quiet  of  the  church  ;  and  there  is 
now  a  gradual  movement,  through  Unitarianism,  to- 
wards a  more  reasonable,  not  to  say  understandable, 
view  of  Divinity. 

The  God-idea  of  the  Bible  would  not  be  complete 
were  the  Devil  omitted.  That  personage  fills  a 
most  important  position,  by  solving  the  problem  of 
the  existence  of  evil.  The  scheme  would  be  im- 
perfect without  him.  The  belief  in  his  existence  is 
passing  away,  but  his  name  cannot  be  blotted  from 
the  pages  of  Scripture.  It  remains  as  a  remnant  of 
the  influence  of  Persia  and  Assyria  on  the  Hebrew 
mind.  The  Bible  recognizes  the  duality  in  nature, 
the  good  and  the  evil  deities  ;  and  Lucifer,  fallen  as 
he  is,  is   believed  by  the   Orthodox  and  Catholic 


150      Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

world  to  be  the  stronger,  if  the  number  of  souls  he 
leads  be  a  sign  of  power. 

The  Biblical  idea  of  God  is  anthropomorphic.  By 
placing  Christ  as  a  mediator,  it  is  intensely  so.  The 
Jewish  idea  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament  is  dis- 
gustingly tainted  with  this  belief. 

God,  through  human  nature,  sacrificed  for  man,  is 
the  same  in  Crishna  and  in  Christ.  The  human 
mind,  weary  with  contemplation  of  infinity,  seeks  the 
divine  man,  and  deifies  ideal  human  nature. 

We  again  have  come  to  the  same  result.  The 
study  of  the  Bible  brings  us  to  the  same  point  we 
reached  in  our  investigation  of  the  doctrines  flowing 
from  the  Shaster  and  Zendavesta. 

Human  nature  returns  to  itself  The  God  at  last 
is  only  a  man.  Afar  off,  he  looked  huge  and  un- 
real ;  near,  and  he  dwarfs  to  human  size. 


IX. 


THE   GOD-IDEA   OF    THE   BORDER-RELIGIONS, —  CHI- 
NESE,   DRUIDS,    SCANDINAVIANS,    AND   AZTECS. 

God  resides  in  the  heart  of  all  creatures.  —  Mahabharata. 

Talk,  talk  much  as  you  please ;  but  who,  what  made  and  governs  those 
unnumbered  worlds  that  pasture  in  the  illimitable  fields  of  heaven  ?  — 
Napoleon. 

THERE  are  great  religions  which  have  sprung 
up,  and  swayed  the  destinies  of  millions,  seem- 
ingly isolated,  and  having  no  historical  connection 
or  relation  to  our  own.  In  all  of  them,  however,  we 
can  trace  the  same  human  elements,  the  same  strug- 
gle for  knowledge,  and  in  their  successes  and  fail- 
ures learn  the  unity  of  human  intellect  and  circum- 
stances in  all  ages  and  races. 

The  numbers  who  embrace  a  religion  prove  noth- 
ing. A  million  men  are  as  liable  to  receive  a  false 
idea  as  one  :  the  only  necessity  is,  that  that  idea  be 
on  their  plane  of  understanding.  If  numbers  prove 
anything,  the  Christian  religion  is  false :  for  it  has 
never  been  received  except  by  a  moiety  of  mankind ; 
while  Buddhism  and  Moslemism  have  been  received 
by  hundreds  of  millions,  undisputed  from  generation 
to  generation. 

The  almost  innumerable  population  of  China  hold 


152     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

to  crude  and  erroneous  notions,  and  vigilantly 
defend  them  against  every  innovation,  refusing 
even  to  examine  any  other  system  ;  but  their  rever- 
ence for  them,  because  taught  twenty-five  hundred 
years  ago  by  Confucius,  proves  as  little  as  the  obe- 
dience of  the  urchin  proves  the  truthfulness  of  the 
command  he  obeys.  As  a  rule  applying  to  the  past, 
the  more  followers  a  system  has,  the  greater  proba- 
bility that  it  is  false ;  and  another  equally  applicable 
is,  that,  the  older  an  idea  is,  the  greater  the  probabil- 
ity that  it  is  false. 

These  startling  propositions  are  proved  by  an  ex- 
amination of  some  of  the  outlying  religions  of  the 
pagan  world.  The  most  notable  of  these  forms  of 
belief  are  the  Druidic,  Scandinavian,  Chinese,  and 
Aztec. 

Though  it  is  very  easy  to  decide  the  religious 
forms  and  ceremonies  of  a  people,  to  seize  on  their 
peculiar  ideas,  for  the  moment  taking  their  place, 
and  receiving  thoughts  as  fashioned  by  their  train,  is 
a  most  difficult  achievement.  The  civilized  man 
judges  all  opinions  and  policies,  found  among  the  di- 
verse race  of  the  globe,  by  his  own  standard  ;  a 
method  most  unjust  and  objectionable. 

Every  race  of  people  have  ethical  systems,  grow- 
ing out  of  their  own  wants  and  desires  ;  good  for  them, 
though  possibly  bad  for  others.  The  Chinese  un- 
doubtedly would  form  as  unfavorable  an  opinion  of 
our  religious  system  as  we  do  of  theirs.  Of  their 
system  the  most  that  can  be  said  is  that  it  is  nega- 
tive.   The  active  impassioned  religious  sentiment 


God-Idea  of  the  Chinese.  153 

of  the  West  is  unknown  to  the  celestials.  The  cere- 
monial is  nine-tenths  of  their  religion.  They  fur- 
nish almost  the  only  example  of  a  people  who  have 
never  offered  human  sacrifice  ;  nor  have  they  ever 
personified  or  deified  any  of  the  vices  or  passions, 
like  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans.  Their  mythol- 
ogy is  far  from  those  tales  of  loves  and  hates  of  the 
gods  by  which  the  latter  brought  their  deities  down  to 
the  sphere  of  humanity. 

Because  of  this  deficiency,  no  hierarchy  has  ever 
been  able  to  rise  to  the  power  and  influence  of  a 
caste,  as  in  India,  although  Budhists  and  Rationalists 
have  been  patronized  and  admitted  into  imperial 
confidence.*  There  is  a  state  religion  which  from 
remote  antiquity  has  undergone  little  change ;  which 
consists,  not  of  dogmas  and  doctrines  to  be  learned 
and  believed,  but  in  rites  and  ceremonies,  f  The  ob- 
jects of  state  worship  are  chiefly  things,  although 
persons  are  sometimes  included.  There  are  three 
grades  of  sacrifice,  —  the  great,  medium,  and  inferior. 
The  great  sacrifices  are  applied  to  four  objects  only, 
—  the  heavens  or  sky,  the  earth,  the  great  temple  of 
ancestors,  and  the  gods  of  the  land  and  grain,  the 
special  patrons  of  each  dynasty.  The  medium  are 
offered  to  the  sun,  moon,  the  names  of  emperors, 
Confucius,  the  gods  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  the 
passing  year.  The  inferior  are  offered  to  the  an- 
cient patron  of  the  healing  art,  innumerable  spirits 
of  eminent  departed  men,  the  elements,  rivers,  moun- 
tains, etc. 

*  The  Middle  Kingdom.     Williams.        \  Dr.  Morrison. 


154     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

The  emperor  performs  the  ceremonial  worship  of 
the  four  superior  objects,  as  Pontifex  Maximus,  as- 
sisted by  members  of  the  imperial  clan  and  the 
board  of  rites.  The  hierophants  are  required  to  pre- 
pare themselves  for  the  occasion  by  fasting ;  ablution ; 
change  of  garments  ;  separation  from  their  wives,  all 
pleasurable  scenes,  and  the  dead  :  "  for  sickness  and 
death  defile  ;  while  banqueting  dissipates  the  mind, 
and  unfits  it  for  holding  communication  with  the 
gods."  The  sacrifices  consist  of  calves,  bullocks, 
sheep,  pigs,  and  the  offerings  of  silks.  The  flesh- 
offering  is  usually  cooked  before  being  placed  on  the 
altar.  Severe  penalties  are  annexed  to  any  infor- 
mality or  neglect,  and  still  heavier  to  the  common 
people  should  they  state  their  wants  to  the  four  su- 
perior objects  of  imperial  adoration.  The  vulgar 
may  worship  as  they  please  ;  but,  if  they  join  in  the 
worship  of  the  son  of  heaven,  death  is  their  punish- 
ment. 

This  worship  is  supposed  to  be  the  concrete  ex- 
pression of  the  early  worship  of  the  universe.  By 
the  adoration  of  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  terres- 
trial gods,  they  sought  to  include  and  propitiate  all 
superior  powers.  The  original  idea  of  a  supreme  in- 
telligence, or  Shangti,  seems  to  have  been  lost. 

The  state  religion  of  China  is  only  a  mere  pageant : 
all  its  members,  however,  are  learned  men,  disciples 
of  Confucius,  or  the  yu  kian.  These  have  no  tem- 
ples, priests,  or  creed,  in  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  term  ;  and  hence  worship  at  the  Buddhist  shrines, 
with  the  Rationalists,  or  even  with  the  Romanists, 


speculations  of  Chu  Hi.  155 

without  losing  connection  with  their  countrymen. 
The  influence  of  Confucius  was  momentous  on  the 
intellectual  development  of  his  countrymen  ;  but  he 
was  not  a  religious  teacher  in  any  sense  of  the  word. 
Although  he  believed  himself  commissioned  to  re- 
store a  better  state,  he  never  taught  the  duty  of  man 
to  any  higher  power  than  the  head  of  a  family  or 
state.  He  said  he  did  not  comprehend  the  myste- 
rious ways  of  the  gods,  and  that  the  duty  of  man  lay 
in  fulfilling  his  obligations  to  his  relations  and  soci- 
ety rather  than  worshiping  unknown  spirits.  "  Not 
knowing  even  life,  how  can  we  know  death  ? " 
When  dying,  his  disciples  asked  to  whom  they  should 
sacrifice :  he  nobly  answered,  "  I  have  already  wor- 
shiped," giving  utterance  to  the  grand  truth  that  a 
well-ordered  life  is  the  best  offering  man  can  render 
the  Infinite. 

The  great  metaphysician  of  China  is  Chu  Hi,  only 
surpassed  by  Confucius  in  influence.  This  philoso- 
pher, perhaps  partially  acquainted  with  the  specula- 
tions of  India,  resolved  the  obscure  references  to 
Shangtiy  in  the  Shu  King,  into  pure  materialism  ; 
making  nature  the  first  principle,  which,  by  operat- 
ing on  itself,  evolves  the  dual  powers  Yin  and  Yattg: 
The  method  of  this  celestial  metaphysician  can  be 
best  seen  by  a  quotation^  in  which  his  system  is  ex- 
pressed. It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that,  adopting  a 
similar  method  as  the  Western  sages,  he  wanders 
for  a  time  in  the  same  fog  of  uncertainties,  and  draws 
his  conclusions  in  the  same  positive  manner.     Many 


156     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

of  his  propositions  would  not  discredit  the  finest  in- 
tellects of  the  West. 

"  Under  the  whole  heaven  there  is  no  primary 
matter  {li)  without  the  immaterial  principle  {kt),  and 
no  immaterial  principle  apart  from  the  primary  mat- 
ter. Subsequent  to  the  existence  of  the  immaterial 
principle  is  produced  primary  matter,  which  is  dedu- 
cible  from  the  axiom  that  the  one  male  and  the  one 
female  principle  of  nature  may  be  denominated  tau 
or  logos  (the  active  principle  from  which  all  things 
emanate) :  thus  nature  is  spontaneously  possessed 
of  benevolence  and  righteousness  (which  are  inclu- 
ded in  the  idea  of  /««.) 

"  First  of  all  existed  tien  li  (the  celestial  principle 
or  soul  of  the  universe),  and  then  came  primary  mat- 
ter :  primary  matter  accumulated  constituted  chik 
(body,  substance,  or  the  accidents  and  qualities  of 
matter),  and  nature  was  arranged. 

"  Should  any  ask  whether  the  immaterial  principle 
or  primary  matter  existed  first,  I  should  say  that  the 
immaterial  principle,  on  assuming  a  figure,  ascended  ; 
and  primary  matter,  on  assuming  form,  descended. 
When  we  come  to  speak  of  assuming  form,  and  as- 
cending or  descending,  how  can  we  divest  ourselves 
of  the  idea  of  priority  and  subsequence  1  When  the 
immaterial  principle  does  not  assume  a  form,  pri- 
mary matter  then  becomes  coarse,  and  forms  a  sedi- 
ment. 

"  Originally,  however,  no  priority  or  subsequence 
can  be  predicated  of  the  immaterial  principle ;  and 
yet,  if  you  insist  on  carrying  out  the  reasoning  to  the 


speculations  of  Chu  Hi.  157 

question  of  their  origin,  then  you  must  say  that  the 
immaterial  principle  has  the  priority.  But  it  is  not  a 
separate  and  distinct  thing :  it  is  just  contained  in 
the  centre  of  the  primary  matter,  so  that,  were  there 
no  primary  matter,  then  this  immaterial  principle 
would  have  no  place  of  attachment.  Primary  mat- 
ter consists,  in  fact,  of  the  four  elements  of  metal, 
wood,  water,  and  fire ;  while  the  immaterial  principle 
is  no  other  than  the  four  cardinal  virtues  of  benevo- 
lence, righteousness,  propriety,  and  wisdom.  .  .  . 

"  Should  any  one  ask  for  an  explanation  of  the 
assertion  that  the  immaterial  has  first  existence,  and 
after  that  comes  primary  matter,  I  say,  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  speak  thus  :  but,  when  we  know  that  they 
are  combined,  is  it  that  the  immaterial  principle 
holds  the  precedence,  and  the  primary  matter  the 
subsequence  "i  or  is  that  the  immaterial  principle  is 
subsequent  to  the  primary  matter  .■'  We  cannot  thus 
carry  our  reasoning :  but,  should  we  endeavor  to  form 
some  idea  of  it,  then  we  may  suppose  that  the  pri- 
mary matter  relies  on  the  immaterial  principle  to 
come  into  action  ;  and,  wherever  the  primary  matter 
is  coagulated,  there  the  immaterial  principle  is  pres- 
ent. For  the  primary  matter  can  concrete  and  co- 
agulate, act  and  do  ;  but  the  immaterial  principle  has 
neither  will  nor  wish,  plan  nor  operation  ;  but  only 
where  the  primary  matter  is  collected  and  coagulated 
then  the  immaterial  principle  is  in  the  midst  of  it. 
Just  as  in  nature,  men  and  things,  grass  and  trees, 
birds  and  beasts,  in  their  propagation  invariably  re- 
quire seed,  and  certainly  cannot  without  seed,  from 


1 58     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

nothingness,  produce  anything.  All  this,  then,  is  the 
primary  matter ;  but  the  immaterial  principle  is  mere- 
ly a  pure,  empty,  wide-stretched  void,  without  form 
or  footstep,  and  incapable  of  action  or  creation :  but 
the  primary  matter  can  ferment  and  coagulate,  col- 
lect and  produce  things.  .  .  . 

"  Should  any  one  ask,  with  regard  to  those  ex- 
pressions, '  The  Supreme  Ruler  confers  the  due  me- 
dium on  the  people,  and  when  Heaven  is  about  to 
send  down  a  great  trust  upon  men,  out  of  regard  to 
the  people  it  sets  up  princes  over  them  ;'  and 
'  Heaven,  in  producing  things  treats  them  according 
to  their  attainments,  —  on  those  who  do  good,  it 
sends  down  a  hundred  blessings,  and,  on  those  who 
do  evil,  a  hundred  calamities  ; '  and,  '  When  Heaven 
is  about  to  send  down  some  uncommon  calamity 
upon  a  generation,  it  first  produces  some  uncom- 
mon genius  to  determine  it,'  —  do  these  and  such 
like  expressions  imply  that  above  the  azure  sky 
there  is  a  Lord  and  Ruler  who  acts  thus .-'  or  is 
it  still  true  that  Heaven  has  no  mind,  and  men  only 
carry  out  their  reasonings  in  this  style  }  I  reply, 
these  three  things  are  but  one  idea :  it  is  that  the 
immaterial  principle  of  order  is  thus.  The  primary 
matter  in  its  evolutions  hitherto,  after  one  season  of 
fullness,  has  experienced  one  of  decay  ;  and,  after  a 
period  of  decline,  it  again  flourishes, — just  as  if 
things  were  going  on  in  a  circle.  There  never  was 
a  decay  without  a  revival. 

"  The  great  extreme  {tai  kih)  is  merely  the  imma- 
terial principle.     It  is  not  an  independent  separate 


7/5e  Great  Extreme.  159 

existence ;  it  is  found  in  the  male  and  female  prin- 
ciples of  nature,  in  the  five  elements,  in  all  things : 
it  is  merely  an  immaterial  principle,  and,  because  of 
its  extending  to  the  extreme  limit,  is  therefore  called 
the  great  extreme.  If  it  were  not  for  it,  heaven  and 
earth  would  not  have  been  set  afloat.  .  .  .  From 
the  time  when  the  great  extreme  came  into  opera- 
tion, all  things  were  produced  by  transformation. 
This  one  doctrine  includes  the  whole  :  it  was  not  be- 
cause this  was  first  in  existence,  and  then  that ;  but 
altogether  there  is  only  one  great  origin,  which  from 
the  substance  extends  to  the  use,  and  from  the  sub- 
tle reaches  to  that  which  is  manifest.  Should  one 
ask,  *  Because  all  things  partake  of  it,  is  the  great 
extreme  split  up  and  divided  .'' '  I  should  reply,  that 
originally  there  is  only  one  great  extreme  (anima 
mundi)  of  which  all  things  partake,  so  that  each  one 
is  provided  with  a  great  extreme :  just  as  the  moon 
in  the  heavens  is  only  one,  and  yet  is  dispersed  over 
the  hills  and  lakes,  being  seen  from  every  place  in 
succession  ;  still  you  cannot  say  that  the  moon  is 
divided. 

"  The  great  extreme  has  neither  residence  nor 
form  nor  place  which  you  can  assign  to  it.  If  you 
speak  of  it  before  its  development,  then  previous  to 
that  emanation  it  was  perfect  stillness  :  motion  and 
rest,  with  the  male  and  female  principles  of  nature, 
are  only  the  enibodiment  and  descent  of  this  princi- 
ple. Motion  is  the  motion  of  the  great  extreme,  and 
rest  is  its  rest ;  but  these  same  motion  and  rest  are 
not  to  be  considered  the  great  extreme  itself.  ... 


i6o     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

Should  any  one  ask,  '  What  is  the  great  extreme  ? '  I 
should  say,  it  is  simply  the  principle  of  extreme 
goodness  and  extreme  perfection.  Every'man  has 
a  great  extreme,  everything  has  one ;  that  which 
Lao-tse  called  the  great  extreme  is  the  exemplified 
virtue  of  everything  that  is  extremely  good  and  per- 
fect in  heaven  and  earth,  men  and  things. 

"  The  great  extreme  is  simply  the  extreme  point, 
beyond  which  one  cannot  go  ;  that  which  is  most 
elevated,  most  mysterious,  most  subtle,  and  most  di- 
vine, beyond  which  there  is  no  passing.  Lienki  was 
afraid  lest  people  should  think  that  the  great  ex- 
treme possessed  form,  and  therefore  called  it  the 
boundless  extreme,  a  principle  centred  in  nothing, 
and  having  an  infinite  extent.  ...  It  is  the  imma- 
terial principle  of  the  two  powers,  the  four  forms, 
and  the  eight  changes  of  nature  :  we  cannot  say  that 
it  does  not  exist,  and  yet  no  form  or  corporeity  can 
be  ascribed  to  it.  From  this  point  are  produced  the 
one  male  and  the  one  female  principles  of  nature 
which  are  called  the  dual  powers :  the  four  forms 
and  eight  changes  also  proceed  from  this,  all  ac- 
cording to  a  certain  natural  order,  irrespective  of 
human  strength  in  its  arrangement.  But  from  the 
time  of  Confucius  no  one  has  been  able  to  get  hold 
of  this  idea."  * 

He  might  well  add,  no  one  ever  will  be  able  to 
seize  this  idea.  The  Chinese  metaphysicians  have 
followed  after  him,  rolling  this  stone  of  Sisyphus  in 
a  constant,  unvarying  circle,  with  all  the  eagerness, 

*  Chinese  Repository,  vol.  xiii.,  pages  552,  609,  et  seq. 


The  Gods  and  Spirits.  i6i 

subtlety,  untiring  zeal,  and  want  of  success,  that  has 
marked  their  fellows  in  Europe. 

With  regard  to  the  gods  and  spirits,  Chu  Hi  "  af- 
firmed that  sufficient  knowledge  was  not  possessed 
to  say  positively  that  they  existed,  and  he  saw  no  dif- 
ficulty in  omitting  the  subject  altogether.  His  sys- 
tem is  also  entirely  silent  respecting  the  immortal- 
ity of  the  soul,  as  well  as  future  rewards  and  punish- 
ments. Virtue  is  rewarded,  and  vice  punished,  in  the 
individual,  or  in  his  posterity,  on  earth ;  but  of  a 
separate  state  of  existence  he  or  his  disciples  do  not 
speak." 

These  sublimated  speculations  are  not  for  the 
common  people.  They  worship  whatever  promises 
relief  or  assistance  ;  and  the  scholar  of  the  classics 
joins  them  in  their  devotions,  whatever  they  may  be. 
There  is  a  titular  divinity  of  each  city,  who  has  a 
temple,  and  receives  special  worship.  There  are  fif-  v 
teen  hundred  and  sixty  temples  dedicated  to  Con- 
fucius alone,  on  whose  altars  sixty  thousand  animals 
are  annually  offered. 

The  literati  laugh  at  the  ceremonies,  yet  join  in 
and  lead  them.  The  people  have  not  advanced  be- 
yond the  stage  of  culture  which  accepts  miracles. 
They  believe  in  "  rain-making  "  with  the  vehemence 
of  the  African.  When  the  gods  do  not  answer  their 
prayers  and  sacrifices,  they  even  proceed  to  castigate 
their  carved  images. 

In  one  respect  the  teachings  of  the  classics  are 
remarkable.  It  is  a  prime  tenet  that  human  na- 
ture is  originally  virtuous,  and  is  corrupted  entirely 


1 62     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

by  bad  precept  and  example.  This,  early  instilled 
by  official  authority  into  the  mind  of  the  child,  neces- 
sarily exerts  a  great  and  decided  influence  on  his 
character.  The  vengeance  of  the  gods  or  future 
punishment  is  not  spoken  of,  —  only  the  well-being 
of  the  individual  and  the  good  of  society  in  this 
world. 

The  Rationalists  adopt  the  teachings  of  Lao-tse, 
who  was  born  B.  C.  604,  or  fifty-four  years  before 
Confucius.  Imagination  has  surrounded  him  with 
the  miracles  and  myths  which  invariably  cluster 
around  a  great  name.  A  remarkable  parallel  exists 
between  his  doctrines,  those  of  Zoroaster,  the  Es- 
senes,  and  the  Gnostics.  They  are  not  unlike  those 
of  Zeno. 

"  Both  recommend  retirement  and  contemplation 
as  the  most  effectual  means  of  purifying  the  spirit- 
ual part  of  our  nature,  annihilating  the  material  pas- 
sions, and  finally  returning  to  the  bosom  of  the  su- 
preme reason.  He  says,  '  All  material  visible  forms 
are  only  emanations  of  Tau  or  Reason :  this  formed 
all  beings.  Before  their  emanation,  the  universe 
was  only  an  indistinct  confused  mass,  a  chaos  of  all 
the  elements  in  a  state  of  a  germ  or  subtle  essence.' 
In  another  section,  he  says,  'All  the  visible  parts  of 
the  universe,  all  beings  composing  it,  the  heavens 
and  all  the  stellar  systems,  all  have  been  formed  of 
the  first  elementary  matter":  before  the  birth  of 
heaven  and  earth,  there  existed  only  an  immense  si- 
lence in  illimitable  space,  an  immeasurable  void  in 
endless  silence.     Reason  alone  circulated  in  this  in- 


Ideas  of  the  Druids.  163 

finite  void  and  silence.'  In  one  of  his  sections, 
Lao-tse  says,  '  Reason  has  produced  one,  one  pro- 
duced two,  two  produced  three,  and  three  made  all 
things.  All  beings  repose  on  the  feminine  principle  ; 
and  they  embrace  and  envelop  the  male  principle,  — 
a  fecundating  breath  keeps  up  their  harmony.'  He 
teaches  the  emanation  and  return  of  all  good  beings 
into  the  bosom  of  reason,  and  their  eternal  existence 
therein  ;  but,  if  not  good,  the  miseries  of  successive 
births  and  their  accompanying  sorrows  await  them."  * 
The  most  popular  sect  are  the  Buddhists.  Their 
doctrines  are  in  harmony  with  those  of  Confucius. 
Buddhism  does  not  hold  out  the  incentive  of  immor- 
tality, nor  the  favor  of  the  gods  in  that  state.  It  is 
not  opposed  to  the  classics.  Hence  its  priests  grad- 
ually became  the  high  priests  of  popular  supersti- 
tion, and  have  since  maintained  their  position. 
China  is  full  of  temples,  in  most  of  which  Buddhist 
priests  are  found,  without  reference  to  the  God  to 
whom  the  temple  is  erected. 

The  Druids. 

Scattered  over  Europe  are  circles  of  rude  blocks 
of  stone  of  immense  size,  of  which  Stonehenge  is 
an  example.  They  are  rough  as  when  broken  from 
the  quarry.  The  people  who  placed  them  there 
were  scarcely  above  savages,  for  they  made  no  pre- 
tense to  hew  the  blocks  into  shape.  The  beholder 
is  impressed  with  the  simple  idea  of  unuttered 
*  Middle  Kingdom.    Williams. 


1 64     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

vastness  and  indefinable  striving  which  the  builders 
strove  to  express.  Who  were  they  ?  What  was  the 
object  of  these  circles  ?  History  is  silent,  and  tra- 
dition faintly  answers.  By  placing  fragmentary 
notices  together,  culled  from  Roman  authors,  an 
outline  can  be  gathered  of  the  religion  of  the  peo- 
ple who  were  spread  over  the  vast  territory  stretch- 
ing from  the  northern  confines  of  the  Roman  empire 
to  the  North  Sea,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  in- 
definite boundary  of  Asia.  In  the  West,  this  people 
were  called  Celts,  and  their  religion  was  the  famed 
and  mysterious  worship  of  the  Druids. 

Little  is  known  of  its  tenets,  nothing  of  its  origin ; 
and  perhaps  nothing  more  can  ever  be  added  to  our 
scanty  knowledge.  With  its  stern  worshipers  the 
knowledge  of  the  system  has  perished.  The  migra- 
tions of  these  people  can  be  traced,  by  affinities  of 
language  and  customs,  to  the  high  table-lands  of 
Asia.  *  The  worship  of  fire,  of  the  stars,  and  the 
sun,  the  abhorrence  of  images,  are  so  many  indices 
of  their  origin. 

The  dogmas  of  the  Druids  were  known  only  to  the 
priests,  never  being  committed  to  writing.  Tacitus 
says  that  the  ancient  Germans  believed  in  the  exist- 
ence of  one  Supreme  Being,  to  whom  all  things  were 
obedient.  Every  portion  of  the  universe  was  ani- 
mated by  this  divinity ;  and  hence  they  worshiped 
sun,  moon,  stars,  earth,  and  water.  In  the  dark  re- 
cesses of  their  primeval  forests  they  kept  the  sacred 
fire  perpetually  burning ;  and,  at  religious  festivals, 
immense  fires  revealed  their  savage  forms. 

*  See  "  Origin  and  Antiquity  of  Man,"  by  the  author. 


Ideas  of  the  Druids.  165 

"  They  suppose  Hertha,  or  Mother  Earth,  to  inter- 
fere in  the  affairs  of  men,  and  visit  different  nations. 
In  an  island  in  the  ocean  stands  a  sacred  and  invio- 
lable grove,  in  which  is  a  consecrated  chariot  cov- 
ered with  a  veil,  which  the  priest  alone  is  permitted 
to  touch.  He  perceives  when  the  goddess  enters 
this  secret  recess  ;  and  with  profound  veneration  he 
attends  the  vehicle,  which  is  drawn  by  yoked  cows. 
At  this  season  all  is  joy.  Every  place  which  the 
goddess  deigns  to  visit  is  a  scene  of  festivity.  No 
wars  are  undertaken  :  every  hostile  weapon  is  laid 
aside.  Then  only  are  peace  and  repose  known,  then 
only  are  they  loved.  After  a  time  the  same  priest 
re-conducts  the  goddess  to  her  temple,  satisfied  with 
mortal  intercourse.  The  chariot  and  its  covering, 
and,  if  we  may  believe  it,  the  goddess  herself,  then 
undergo  ablution  in  a  secret  lake.  This  office  is 
performed  by  slaves,  whom  the  lake  instantly  swal- 
lows up.  Hence  proceeds  a  mysterious  horror  and 
holy  ignorance  of  what  that  can  be,  which  is  beheld 
only  by  those  who  are  about  to  perish."  * 

The  Teutons  worshiped  a  deity  called  Tuisco, 
from  whom  they  derived  their  name.  From  his 
marriage  with  Hertha,  the  earth,  mankind  were  pro- 
duced. An  image  of  a  woman  with  a  child  in  her 
arms  was  consecrated  in  their  forests,  and  was  held 
particularly  sacred.  They  had  festivals  in  honor  of 
the  sun,  and  greeted  the  new  moon  with  torchlight 
processions.  They  held  the  Rhine  in  great  venera- 
tion, and  cast  offerings  into  its  waves. 

No  priesthood  were  ever  held  in  greater  venera- 

*  Tacitus. 


1 66     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

tion  or  fear  than  the  Druids.  They  were  prophets, 
lawgivers,  and  executors  of  the  law.  They  excom- 
municated those  who  opposed  them ;  and  thenceforth 
the  victim  became  an  outlaw,  and  his  most  inti- 
mate friends  did  not  dare  walk  with  him  for  fear  of 
sharing  the  curse  resting  on  him.  Whole  cities  and 
nations  were  thus  excommunicated,  a  fate  dreaded 
as  the  worst  of  public  calamities. 

Woman  held  a  high  place  in  the  Druidical  system. 
Tacitus  says  that  some  Germans  "  suppose  a  divine 
and  prophetic  quality  resident  in  their  women,  and 
are  careful  neither  to  disregard  their  admonitions, 
nor  neglect  their  answers."  They  were  called  to  the 
national  councils,  and  often  fought  with  equal  brav- 
ery in  battle.  The  part  they  performed  in  the  na- 
tional worship  was  most  important.  The  highest 
order  of  priestesses  were  vowed  to  perpetual  celib- 
acy, and  dwelt  in  sacred  places.  It  was  the  univer- 
sal faith  that  all  events  happened  according  to  unal- 
terable destiny,  known  only  to  the  gods,  and  re- 
vealed to  prophets.  As  spirits  had  such  intimate 
relations  with  men,  trial  by  ordeal  was  considered 
most  proper,  as  the  good  spirit  would  protect  the  in- 
nocent. Convulsions  of  nature,  as  earthquakes,  vol- 
canoes, and  tempests,  were  caused  by  the  death  of 
some  great  man. 

They  believed,  that,  when  the  blood  of  man  had 
been  shed,  nothing  but  the  blood  of  man  could  sat- 
isfy the  offended  deities.  If  a  man  was  in  danger,  or 
prostrate  with  sickness,  it  was  supposed  that  it  was 
the  result  of  sin,  and  the  sin  could  be  atoned  for  only 


Ideas  of  the  Dridds.  167 

by  the  blood  of  another  man.  Sometimes,  to  avert 
national  disaster,  whole  hecatombs  of  victims  were 
sacrificed  to  the  offended  gods.  A  huge  image  of  a 
man  was  made  of  basket-work ;  which  was  then  filled 
with  men,  women,  and  children,  generally  prisoners, 
but  sometimes  their  own  kindred,  and  the  whole  con- 
signed to  the  flames.  The  cruelty  of  such  sacrifices 
was  lessened  by  the  belief  that  the  victims  became 
pure,  and  raised  to  an  equality  with  the  superior  na- 
tures of  the  gods. 

The  Druids  did  not  tolerate  images.  Their  rites 
were  performed  in  the  darkest  groves  and  caverns, 
where  it  was  supposed  powerful  spirits  loved  to  re- 
sort. Savage  man  showed  his  child-like  nature  by 
peopling  the  dark  with  goblins.  They  erected  cir- 
cles of  rough  stones,  like  that  of  Stonehenge  ;  and, 
within  the  inclosures  thus  formed,  altars  smoked 
with  oblations  of  fruits,  grain,  flowers,  and  flesh  of 
slaughtered  animals  ;  and,  more  terrible,  from  them 
the  wail  of  human  anguish  ascended  to  appease  the 
wrath  of  offended  gods. 

Such  was  the  dark  and  appalling  religion  which 
held  Northern  Europe  in  abject  bondage  to  the  will 
of  a  crafty  priesthood  for  numberless  centuries  until 
subdued  by  the  Roman  power,  and  the  superior 
light  of  Christianity  penetrated  the  minds  of  the 
barbarians.  Their  supreme  God  was  like  the  He- 
brew Jehovah,  —  fierce,  sullen,  wrathful;  and  his 
children  were  compelled  to  appease  him  by  abject 
homage  and  dreadful  sacrifices. 


1 68     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

Scandinavia. 

The  religious  ideas  of  Scandinavia,  before  the  ad- 
vent of  Thor,  are  not  well  understood ;  as  that  people 
were  reluctant  to  unveil  their  sacred  mysteries  be- 
fore strangers.  *  They  revered  a  supreme  God,  the 
author  and  ruler  of  the  universe,  possessing  infinite 
power,  knowledge,  and  justice.  It  was  unlawful  to 
represent  him  by  images,  or  any  corporeal  shape, 
or  to  worship  him  in  any  inclosure  or  temple.  His 
only  shrine  was  the  dark  forest  or  consecrated  grove. 

Between  this  infinite  being  and  man  existed  a  de- 
scending series  of  divinities,  emanating  from  the 
former,  whose  office  was  to  rule  over  the  elements, 
control  the  operations  of  nature,  or  act  as'  messen- 
gers in  executing  the  sentences  of  the  infinite. 
These  were  propitiated  by  sacrifice,  and  their  favor 
was  the  reward  in  the  future  life. 

This  primitive  mythology  gradually  changed  its 
character  by  the  introduction  of  new  and  foreign 
gods,  the  heroic  Odin  taking  the  place  of  principal 
deity.  It  prevailed  seven  or  eight  hundred  years, 
when  it  gave  way  before  Christianity.  It  is  pre- 
served in  the  "  Elder  Edda,"  a  compilation  of  the 
spiritual  thoughts,  beliefs,  and  emotions  of  the  Nor- 
thern race.  They  strove  to  solve  the  mysteries  of 
creation  with  equal  ardor  and  results  as  the  philos- 
ophers of  Greece.  They  erected  a  stupendous  cos- 
mogony and  theogony,  fierce  and  awful  as  the  deso- 
late mountains  and  crags  of  their  native  country. 
*  Tacitus.    Germ. 


Ideas  of  Scandinavia.  169 

In  the  beginning,  chaos  reigned  over  the  universe. 
There  was  neither  heaven  nor  earth,  only  the  bot- 
tomless abyss  of  Ginnungagap,  and  the  two  regions 
of  Nifelheim  and  Muspelheim.  The  first  contained 
the  well  Hvergelmer,  whence  flowed  twelve  poison- 
ous streams  which  generated  ice,  snow,  wind,  and 
rain  :  the  latter  was  the  abode  of  fire,  ruled  by  Sur- 
tur. 

Froip  the  union  of  heat  and  moisture  issued 
drops  from  which  sprang  the  giant  Ymer,  with  his 
brethren,  the  Rimthursar,  the  evil  ones.  They  were 
nourished  by  the  cow  Andhumbla ;  and  she  was  sup- 
ported by  licking  the  rocks,  covered  with  salt  and 
hoar-frost. 

"In  those  days  a  creature  was  born,  endowed 
with  beauty,  agility,  and  power.  His  son  was  Borr, 
who  married  a  giantess,  and  was  father  to  Odin, 
Vile,  and  Ve.  The  Earth  was  his  daughter  and  his 
wife  ;  the  mother  of  his  first-born,  Asa-Thor  the  in- 
vincible." 

"  The  descendants  of  Borr  slew  Ymer,  whose 
blood  caused  a  deluge  that  drowned  all  the  Rimthur- 
sar except  Bergelmer,  from  whom  the  rest  of  the 
giants  were  sprung.  Of  Ymer's  body  the  gods  made 
the  world  ;  his  flesh  composed  the  mold  ;  his  bones, 
the  rocks  ;  his  hair,  the  trees  and  herbs  ;  his  sweat, 
the  ocean,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  fixed  the  earth  ; 
and  his  skull,  the  heavens,  which  they  divided  into 
four  quarters,  placing  the  dwarfs  East,  West,  South, 
and  North,  at  each  corner,  to  sustain  it.  Of  his 
brain  they  formed  the  heavy  clouds,  and  of  his  eye- 


1 70     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

brows  they  erected  Midgard,  the  middle  mansion,  or 
abode  of  men. 

"  The  new  erection,  as  yet,  was  without  propor- 
tion, and  enveloped  in  darkness.  The  sun  and  moon 
were  ignorant  of  their  powers,  and  the  other  lumi- 
naries knew  not  the  stations  they  were  to  occupy. 
At  length  Odin,  the  god  of  light,  with  his  brothers, 
who  sat  in  council,  collected  the  sparks  from  Mus- 
pelheim  that  flew  about  in  Ginnungapap,  and  plant- 
ed them  as  stars  in  the  firmament.  They  also  fixed 
the  names  and  appointed  the  order  of  the  seasons. 
Natt  (the  Night)  wedded  one  of  the  Asen,  a  race 
fair  and  divine  ;  and  their  son  Dag  (Day)  was  beau- 
tiful like  his  father.  With  two  steeds  they  travel 
successively  round  the  world  in  twenty-four  hours: 
the  horse  of  Night  is  Rimfaxi  (Frost-mane),  the  foam 
of  whose  bit  causes  the  dew  ;  the  car  of  Day  is  drawn 
by  Skinfaxi  (Shining-mane),  whose  radiant  mane  il- 
lumines the  sky.  A  cool  air,  placed  under  their 
skins,  gives  freshness  to  the  morning.  The  sun  and 
moon  are  guided  in  their  course  by  the  two  children 
of  Mundifor. 

"  On  the  extreme  shore  of  the  ocean  was  Utgard, 
also  Jotunheim,  where  dwelt  Nor  and  the  giants, 
against  whom  a  wall  or  strong  fortress  was  built  to 
separate  them  from  Asgard,  the  habitation  of  the 
gods.  There,  under  the  root  of  the  tree  of  the 
world,  lived  the  dwarfs  and  elves  ;  and  there  is  the 
home  of  Sleep,  who  rises  every  night  to  seal  the  eye- 
lids of  mankind.  At  the  north  sat  the  giant  Hras- 
velg,  devouring  the  dead :  his  shape  was  that  of  an 


Ideas  of  Scandinavia.  171 

eagle ;  and,  when  he  moved  his  wings,  it  caused  the 
winds  and  the  desolating  tempests  to  blow.  There 
were  nine  heavens  and  nine  earths,  in  the  lowest  of 
which  resided  Hell,  the  goddess  of  the  nether  world. 

"  As  yet  the  human  species  had  no  existence ; 
when  Odin,  intent  upon  beautifying  the  universe, 
created  a  man  and  woman,  Ask  and  Embla,  from  two 
pieces  of  wood  (ash  and  elm),  thrown  by  the  waves 
upon  the  beach.  These  were  the  first  pair  ;  and  the 
three  Asen  endowed  them  with  life,  comeliness,  and 
intellect. 

"  The  gods  themselves  inhabited  Asgard,  which 
may  be  considered  as  the  Scandinavian  Olympus. 
It  contained  a  number  of  cities  and  halls,  the 
largest  and  most  splendid  of  which  was  named  Glad- 
heim,  or  the  mansion  of  joy,  wherein  were  twelve 
seats  for  the  primary  deities,  besides  the  throne  oc- 
cupied by  All-fader,  the  universal  father.  Another 
edifice  erected  for  the  goddesses  was  Vingolf,  the 
abode  of  love  and  friendship.  In  Alfheim  dwelt  the 
luminous  elves  or  fairies,  a  distinct  race  from  the 
black  genii  that  live  under  the  earth.  The  celestial 
capital  was  overspread  with  the  famous  ash  Ygdra- 
sil,  the  tallest  and  most  beautiful  of  all  trees,  whose 
branches  covered  the  whole  earth,  and  towered 
above  the  heavens.  To  preserve  it  evergreen,  it 
was  watered  by  the  Nornor,  the  fates  or  destinies 
that  distribute  to  man  the  various  events  of  his  life, 
good  or  bad.  It  had  three  roots.  One  reached  to 
Nifelheim,  where  Nidhogg,  a  monstrous  serpent,  lay 
and  gnawed  it  in  the  well  Hvergelmer,  the  source 


172     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

of  the  infernal  rivers.  Another  extended  to  the  abode 
of  the  Rimthursar  ;  and  under  it  was  the  well  Mimer, 
the  fountain  of  wisdom,  where  Odin  left  his  eye  in 
pledge  for  a  cup  of  its  inspiring  waters.  The  third 
stretched  to  the  Asen,  and  the  human  world.  JBe- 
neath  was  the  holy  spring  of  Urd,  where  two  swans 
were  nursed,  the  progenitors  of  all  birds  of  that  spe- 
cies, and  where  the  gods  sat  in  judgment,  passing 
to  it  every  day  on  horseback,  over  the  sacred  bridge 
Bafrost  (the  rainbow),  on  which  the  giants  dared 
not  tread.  In  a  hall  under  it  lived  three  virgins  of 
the  Nornor,  who  dispense  the  ages  of  men." 

Odin  is  the  chief  deity  of  Asgard.  He  is  the 
father  of  all,  the  creator  and  governor  of  the  uni- 
verse. Frizza,  the  Earth,  is  his  daughter  and  wife  ; 
the  graceful  Balder,  his  second  son. 

There  were  a  host  of  deities  of  minor  repute,  —  of 
the  ocean,  war,  archery,  peace ;  goddesses  of  love, 
the  toilet,  prudence,  of  medicine,  etc.  There  were 
also  Valkyries,  whose  office  was  to  pour  out  raead 
for  the  braves  in  Valhalla,  passing  it  in  cups  made 
from  the  skulls  of  enemies.  Then  the  departed  he- 
roes engaged  in  feasting,  or  hewing  each  other  to 
pieces  in  combat,  to  become  renewed  at  the  hour 
of  repast. 

The  Scandinavian  cosmogony  saw  in  the  remote 
past  a  Garden  of  Eden,  and  the  story  of  its  loss  is 
the  poetry  of  imagination.  It  also  has  a  conclusion 
to  the  present  order  of  nature, — a  grand  finale.  Of 
that  time  the  Vala  sings,  — 


Ideas  of  the  Aztecs.  173 

"  The  sun  all  black  shall  be, 
The  earth  sink  in  the  sea, 
And  every  starry  ray 
From  heaven  fade  away ; 
While  vapors  hot  shall  fill 
The  air  round  Ygdrasil, 
And,  flaming  as  they  rise, 
Play  towering  to  the  skies." 

Out  of  ruin  shall  arise  a  new  and  inconceivably 
more  beautiful  earth ;  and  then  man  shall  live  accord- 
ing to  his  deeds,  —  eternally  happy  or  miserable. 
Of  the  fate  of  the  sinful,  the  Edda  draws  the  follow- 
ing terrible  picture : 

"  There  is  an  abode  remote  from  the  sun,  the  gates 
of  which  face  the  north.  Poison  rains  through  a 
thousand  openings :  it  is  constructed  with  the  car- 
casses of  scorpions  and  serpents,  their  heads  turned 
inward.  From  this  dismal  abyss  smoke  ascends  in 
dense  columns.  There  the  wicked  float  in  streams 
of  venom,  black  as  pitch,  and  cold  as  ice ;  or  have 
their  bodies  perpetually  gnawed  and  tortured  by  a 
wolf  The  respective  destinies  of  the  good  and  the 
bad  are  to  endure  forever,  as  they  are  ordained  by 
the  decrees  of  the  powerful  Being  who  governs  all, 
and  who  comes  forth  from  his  lofty  throne  to  render 
divine  justice." 

The  Aztecs. 

A  strange  civilization  grew  up  in  the  southwest- 
ern section  of  North  America:  it  was  infantile, 
anomalous,  and  unique,  and  contained  the  elements 


1 74     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

of  self-defeat.  When  discovered  by  the  Spaniards, 
it  was  already  on  the  decline  ;  and,  by  the  ferocious 
bigotry  of  those  invaders,  it  was  utterly  extinguished. 
In  vain  we  look  for  its  parallel  in  the  surrounding 
Indian  tribes.  Instead,  we  find  analogies  on  the 
opposite  regions  of  the  globe.  The  worshipers  of 
fire  on  the  plains  of  Persia,  the  dreamy  Hindoos  of 
the  Ganges,  appear  to  have  contributed  to  the  wor- 
ship of  the  semi-civilized  Aztec. 

Mythology  has  been  defined  as  the  poetry  of  reli- 
gion. It  may  be  better  defined  as  the  essence  of 
external  conditions.  It  is  dependent  on  geography. 
Savage  man,  pushing  his  way  out  of  savagedom,  must 
have  his  rude  conceptions  modified  by  the  surround- 
ing nature  from  which  they  spring.  The  Goth  of 
the  dark  forests  of  Germany,  quaffing  mead  from  the 
skulls  of  vanquished  enemies,  must  originate  an  en- 
tirely different  mythology  than  the  delicate  Indian  of 
the  tropics,  whose  life  is  listlessly  spent  under  the 
shade  of  the  banana.  *  The  Atzecs  had  as  thor- 
ough and  burdensome  a  ceremonial  as  ever  darkened 
the  historic  pages  of  any  people.  It  was  the  con- 
crete expression  of  their  own  fierce  and  unrelenting 
character. 

They  recognized  the  existence  of  a  supreme  Crea- 
tor and  Lord  of  the  universe.  They  addressed  him 
in  their  prayers  as  "  the  God  by  whom  we  live ; " 
"Omnipresent,  that  knoweth  all  thoughts,  and 
giveth  all  gifts  ; "  "  without  whom  man  is  nothing ; " 
"  invisible,  incorporeal,  one  God,  of  perfection  and 

♦  Prescott.    Con.  of  Mexico. 


Ideas  of  the  Aztecs.  175 

purity  ;"  "under  whose  wings  we  find  repose  and  a 
sure  defense."  * 

Such  expressions  seem  to  convey  a  not  inade- 
quate view  of  the  Creator  :  but  the  Aztec  had  no  idea 
of  unity ;  of  a  being,  all-pervading,  whose  simple 
volitiop  was  action,  and  who  needed  no  inferior  min- 
isters to  execute  his  purposes  ;  and  they  filled  the  im- 
passable gulf  between  the  infinite  and  man  with  a 
host  of  inferior  deities,  who  presided  over  the  ele- 
ments and  the  occupations  of  men.  Such  is  the  un- 
varying escape  of  the  savage  from  the  oppressive 
contemplation  of  the  infinite.  There  were  thirteen 
principal  deities,  and  more  than  two  hundred  inferior, 
each  having  special  days  of  festival,  f 

The  chief  deity  was  the  terrible,  sanguinary  mon- 
ster, Huitzilopotchli,  the  god  of  war.  His  temples 
were  the  most  august,  and  hecatombs  of  captives 
shed  their  bipod  on  his  altars  in  every  city  of  the 
empire.  Terrible  as  he  is  represented,  he  was  born 
of  a  virgin,  entering  the  world  armed  like  Minerva.  % 

Quetzalcoalt  presents  a  more  pleasing  character. 
He  is  undoubtedly  one  of  those  personages  who  de- 
vote themselves  to  the  improvement  of  their  race, 
and  are  deified  by  the  rude  gratitude  of  their  coun- 
trymen.    He  instructed  his  people  in  the  use  of 

*  Prescott.     Con.  of  Mexico,  ,. 

f  Tahagun.     His.  de  Nueva  Espana. 

X  Like  Christ,  the  chief  deity  of  the  people  beyond  the 
Ganges,  of  China,  Thibet,  and  the  Mars  of  the  Aztecs,  were 
born  of  virgins.  See  Milman,  His.  Christianity ;  Clavigero, 
Stor.  del  Messico ;  Barrow. 


176     CcCreer  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

metals,  in  agriculture,  and  civil  polity.  During  his 
stay,  the  earth  was  fruitful  beyond  expression,  with- 
out the  pains  of  culture.  The  cotton  grew  colored 
with  exquisite  dyes  ;  an  ear  of  corn  was  as  large  as 
a  man  could  carry  ;  the  air  was  perfumed,  and  full  of 
melody.  This  was  the  golden  age,  which  is  found 
in  the  myths  of  all  races. 

Compelled  to  abandon  the  country  by  the  wrath 
of  the  principal  gods,  he  stopped  at  Cholula,  where 
a  magnificent  temple  was  erected  to  him,  the  inter- 
esting ruins  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen.  Then  he 
stepped  into  his  wizard  skiff  formed  of  serpent  skins, 
and  departed  over  the  Mexican  gulf,  to  the  fabled 
land  of  Tlapallan,  first  telling  his  people  that  he  and 
his  descendants  would  return.  This  superstition, 
which  saw  in  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards  its  fulfill- 
ment, was  a  potent  cause  of  national  extinction. 

From  these  deities  there  was  a  regular  gradation 
down  to  the  household  gods. 

The  priestly  order  was  numerous.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  five  thousand  were  connected  with  the 
principal  temples  of  the  empire.  They  possessed  all 
the  scanty  knowledge  of  their  time,  and  employed  it 
in  strengthening  the  superstition  which  gave  them 
power.  "  The  priests  were  each  devoted  to  the  ser- 
vice of  some  particular  deity,  and  were  provided  with 
apartments  in  the  temples.  In  these  monastic  resi- 
dences they  lived  in  all  the  stern  severity  of  conven- 
tual discipline.  Thrice  during  the  day,  and  once  at 
night,  they  were  called  to  prayers.  They  were  fre- 
quent in  their  ablutions  and  vigils,  and  mortified  the 


Aztec  Temples.  177 

flesh  by  fasting  and  cruel  penance,  drawing  blood 
from  their  bodies  by  flagellation,  or  by  piercing  them 
with  thorns  of  the  aloe,  * 

The  Aztec  temples  were  called  teocallis  or  "  Houses 
of  God."  They  were  very  numerous  ;  and  some 
were  of  grand  proportions,  on  which  all  the  efforts  of 
crude  art  expended  itself  They  were  pyramids  of 
earth,  incased  with  brick  or  stone,  some  of  them 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  square  at  their  base, 
and  more  than  that  in  height.  On  the  broad  top  of 
these  pyramids  were  lofty  towers  containing  images 
of  the  presiding  deities,  in  front  of  which  stood  the 
terrible  sacrificial  stone,  and  two  lofty  altars,  on 
which  blazed  the  inextinguishable  sacred  fire. 

The  religious  ceremonies  were  most  august  and 
impressive.  The  long  lines  of  priests  slowly  wind- 
ing up  the  sides  of  the  pyramids,  and  the  procession 
of  votaries  crowned  with  garlands  bearing  their  offer- 
ings of  fruits,  gums,  and  choicest  grains,  presented 
a  beautiful  and  thrilling  spectacle.  Often,  however, 
leading  that  procession,  were  human  victims  ;  and  the 
kettle-drum,  from  the  summit  of  the  temple,  called 
the  breathless  people  to  witness  their  immolation. 

Such  sacrifices  were  required  by  Tezcatlipoca, 
who  ranked  next  to  the  Supreme  Being ;  who  was 
called  the  "  Soul  of  the  world,"  and  was  said  to  have 
been  its  creator.  "  He  was  depicted  as  a  handsome 
man,  endowed  with  perpetual  youth.  A  year  before 
the  intended  sacrifice,  a  captive,  distinguished  for  his 
personal  beauty,  and  without  a  blemish  on  his  body, 

*  Prescott. 


178     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

was  selected  to  represent  this  deity.  Certain  tutors 
took  charge  of  him,  and  instructed  him  how  to  per- 
form his  new  part  with  becoming  dignity  and  grace. 
He  was  arrayed  in  a  splendid  dress,  regaled  with 
incense,  and  with  a  profusion  of  sweet  flowers. 
When  he  went  abroad,  he  was  attended  by  a  train 
of  royal  pages ;  and,  as  he  halted  in  the  street  to  play 
some  favorite  melody,  the  crowd  prostrated  them- 
selves before  him,  and  did  him  homage  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  their  good  deity.  In  this  way  he  led  a 
life  of  luxury  till  within  a  month  of  his  sacrifice. 
Four  beautiful  girls,  bearing  the  names  of  the  prin- 
cipal goddesses,  were  then  selected  to  share  the  hon- 
ors of  his  bed  ;  and  with  them  he  continued  to  live 
in  idle  dalliance,  feasted  at  the  banquets  of  the  prin- 
cipal nobles,  who  paid  him  divine  honors  of  a  divin- 
ity. At  length  the  fatal  day  arrived.  The  term  of 
his  short-lived  glories  was  at  an  end.  He  was 
stripped  of  his  gaudy  apparel,  and  bade  adieu  to  the 
fair  partners  of  his  revelries.  One  of  the  royal 
barges  transported  him  across  the  lake  to  a  temple 
which  rose  on  its  margin  about  a  league  from  the 
city.  Hither  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital  flocked, 
to  witness  the  consummation  of  the  ceremony.  As 
the  sad  procession  wound  up  the  sides  of  the  pyra- 
mid, the  unhappy  victim  threw  away  his  gay  chap- 
lets  of  flowers,  and  broke  in  pieces  the  musical  in- 
struments with  which  he  had  solaced  the  hours  of 
captivity.  On  the  summit  he  was  received  by  six 
priests,  whose  long  and  matted  locks  flowed  disor- 
derly over  their   sable   robes,  covered  with  hiero- 


Aztec  Sacrifices.  179 

glyphic  scrolls  of  mystic  import.  They  led  him  to  the 
sacrificial  stone,  a  huge  block  of  jasper,  with  its  up- 
per surface  somewhat  convex.  On  this  the  prisoner 
was  stretched.  Five  priests  secured  his  head  and 
his  limbs  ;  while  the  sixth,  clad  in  a  scarlet  mantle, 
emblematic  of  his  bloody  office,  dexterously  opened 
the  breast  of  the  wretched  victim  with  a  sharp  razor 
of  itztli, — a  volcanic  substance,  hard  as  flint, — and, 
inserting  his  hand  in  the  wound,  tore  out  the  palpi- 
tating heart.  The  minister  of  death,  first  holding 
this  up  towards  the  sun,  an  object  of  worship 
throughout  Anahuac,  cast  it  at  the  feet  of  the  deity 
to  whom  the  temple  was  devoted,  while  the  multi- 
tudes below  prostrated  themselves  in  humble  adora- 
tion. The  tragic  story  of  the  prisoner  was  expound- 
ed by  the  priests  as  the  type  of  human  destiny, 
which,  brilliant  in  its  commencement,  too  often 
closes  in  sorrow  and  disaster.  * 

After  the  sacrifice,  the  body  was  delivered  to  the 
warrior  who  captured  him  in  battle,  who  served  it 
up  at  a  feast  as  the  concluding  act  in  this  awful  re- 
ligious drama. 

Women  as  well  as  men  were  sometimes  sacrificed. 
In  seasons  of  drought,  Thaloe,  the  god  of  rain,  de- 
manded the  offering  of  children  ;  and  infants  were 
offered,  the  priests  reading,  in  the  tears  evoked  by 
the  sight  of  their  innocence,  an  augury  that  their 
petition  would  be  answered. 

The  most  polished  nations  of  antiquity  sacrificed 
human  victims,  but  none  to  the  terrible  extent  of 

*  Prescott. 


1 80    Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

the  Aztecs.  Some  authors  estimate  the  number  of 
victims  annually  sacrificed  throughout  the  empire  at 
twenty  thousand,  and  others  state  it  as  high  as  fifty 
thousand.  At  the  dedication  of  the  great  temple  of 
Huitzilopotchli,  the  victims,  who  had  been  preserved 
for  years,  were  drawn  from  all  parts,  and  ranged  in 
files  forming  a  procession  nearly  two  miles  in  length. 
Seventy  thousand  captives  are  said  to  have  been  im- 
molated on  the  shrine  of  the  dreadful  god. 

The  main  object  of  war  was  to  secure  victims  for 
their  sacrifices ;  for,  in  case  they  were  not  thus  ob- 
tained, they  must  be  supplied  from  the  people.  By 
such  diabolical  rites,  the  gloom  of  superstition  spread 
over  all  the  people,  from  the  throne  of  the  king  to  the 
hearth  of  the  peasant ;  and,  having  impregnated  them 
with  the  blindest  fanaticism,  the  priest  placed  his 
iron  heel  on  their  necks,  and  held  them  in  abject 
bondage. 


X. 


CONCLUSION  —  ULTIMATE   OF   THE   GOD-IDEA. 

They  who  deny  the  popular  conception  of  God  are  called  Atheists.  The 
best  and  greatest  men  have  been  branded  with  this  blasting  name,  — 
Thales,  Aristotle,  Xenophanes,  both  the  Zenos,  Cicero,  Seneca,  Abe- 
lard,  Gallileo,  Kepler,  Descartes,  Leibnitz,  Wolf,  Locke,  Cudworth, 
Clark,  Jacob  Boelime,  Kant,  Fichte,  Schelling,  and  Hegel.  Priestley, 
Von  Holback,  Helvetius,  Diderot,  and  D'Alembert,  have  been  so  stig- 
matized. The  early  Christians  and  all  the  most  distinguished  religious 
philosophers  have  borne  the  name. 

Beneath  all  the  ceaseless  changes  and  unrest  of  nature,  there  is  that 
which  never  changes.  —  Arcana. 

It  is  impossible  even  for  God  to  escape  Fate.  —  Herodotus. 

IT  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  first  great  problem 
which  engaged  the  human  mind  was  one  that 
by  its  profundity  was  impossible  for  a  finite  mind  to 
grasp.  This  problem  was  the  nature  of  God.  In 
this  it  indicates  its  kinship  to  the  infinite  and  ever- 
lasting. It  asks,  with  the  first  breath  of  its  being, 
what,  where,  and  who  is  God,  feeling  that  an  answer 
is  imperatively  necessary,  and  yet  from  the  very  con- 
stitution of  things  it  cannot  receive  a  reply. 

The  child  follows  the  savage,  and,  while  yet  un- 
able to  comprehend  the  construction  of  its  toys, 
lisps  the  half-articulated  query,  "Who  and  where  is 
God?" 


1 82    Career  of  the  God-Idea  m  History. 

Around  this  question  aggregate  the  various  reli- 
gious systems  of  the  world.  Its  attempted  answers 
form  the  basis  of  all  sacred  literature  and  ethical 
systems.  The  dreamy  Hindoo,  retired  from  the 
world  in  the  deepest  jungle  or  remotest  cavern, 
transcribing  the  vagaries  of  ecstasy  from  generation 
to  generation,  fashioned  the  Shaster.  Mohammed 
gathered  the  traditions  of  the  monotheistic  Arab  in 
the  Koran  ;  another  Semitic  people  our  own  Holy 
Book ;  and,  in  the  same  wonderful  region  of  Asia, 
originated  the  Zend,  holy  to  the  fire-worshipers.  If 
we  look  carefully  into  these  books,  we  shall  find  that 
the  answer  has  been  an  echo  of  the  writer's  ideas  as 
these  were  molded  by  the  aspect  of  surrounding 
nature.  The  Semitic  race,  from  whom  the  two 
great  systems  of  Judaism  and  Islamism  are  derived, 
were  monotheistic  by  force  of  the  country  they  in- 
habited. The  terrible  solitudes  of  the  deserts  of  the 
East,  the  sameness,  the  oneness  so  to  speak,  re- 
acted on  the  wild  men  who  roamed  over  them. 

After  surveying  the  ideas  entertained  of  God  by 
all  races  of  men,  from  the  remotest  time  to  the  pres- 
ent, we  find,  that,  amid  conflicting  claims  and  pre- 
tended revelations,  there  is  no  certainty,  nothing  ab- 
solute. We  have  exhausted  the  sacred  traditions 
of  mankind,  and  have  met  only  vague  conjecture. 
Where,  then,  shall  we  seek  for  the  solution  ?  We 
must  turn  to  nature,  and  await  her  reply. 

Man  is  placed  in  the  midst  of  an  endless  plain, 
boundless  and  inexpressible.  All  his  thoughts,  ideas, 
and  desires,  are  in  harmony  with  the  conditions  which 


Reason  the  Umpire.  183 

environ  him.  Whether  he  gaze  on  the  summit  of  the 
blue,  cloud-capped  mountain,  the  hurrying  cataract 
which  bounds  over  its  rocky  side,  the  smooth,  tran- 
quil river,  or  the  ocean  lashed  to  fury  by  the  commo- 
tions of  the  atmosphere ;  whether  he  with  the  mi- 
croscope survey  the  world  of  invisible  beings  which 
dwell  in  a  single  drop  of  stagnant  water,  in  the  blood 
or  the  juices  of  the  muscles,  or  with  heaven-directed 
telescope  survey  the  realms  of  immensity,  worlds 
and  worlds  tumultuous  piled,  yet  harmonious,  and 
obeying  one  general  law  by  which  they  are  preserved 
from  general  ruin  ;  whether  he  gaze  down  the  dim 
vista  of  the  past,  and  behold  the  endless  mutations 
matter  has  undergone,  the  forms  which  have  arose 
from  those  lower  and  less  developed  ;  or  forward  in- 
to the  misty  future,  and  feel  a  longing  and  undefined 
desire  to  know  and  feel  the  changes  future  ages  will 
produce,  —  his  mind  is  ever  alive  to  the  impressions 
of  surrounding  nature. 

It  has  been  said  that  we  know  nothing  of  causa- 
tion, that  the  effect  is  all  we  have  knowledge  of,  and 
that  it  is  rank  infidelity  to  try  to  reveal  the  hidden 
ways  of  the  Almighty.  No  more  so  than  to  see  the 
effect.  All  evidence  we  have  of  any  object  is  the 
impression  which  that  object  produces  on  our  senses, 
and  all  the  evidence  which  we  possess  of  the  ex- 
istence of  causation,  is  the  effect  which  ideas  pro- 
duce upon  our  reason  and  understanding.  Hence 
we  have  as  much  right  to  infer  from  one  as  the  other, 
and  to  trace  to  their  final  cause  the  effects  ,and 
causes  of  nature.   To  us  we  have  no  higher  law  than 


1 84    Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

reason  :  we  possess  no  other  guide  ;  and,  if  that  fail, 
we  have  no  support.     It  is  the  Divine  power,  which^ 
is  the  only  safeguard  in  investigation,  and,  unpervert- 
ed,  will  be  a  true  and  faithful  guide. 

At  the  outset,  we  learn  that  we  never  can  ascer- 
tain who,  what,  and  where  is  God.  All  that  is  left 
us  is  to  learn  what  he  is  not.  It  is  the  ordained 
task  of  the  learning  of  the  present  to  overthrow  the 
religious  dogmas  of  the  past  by  showing  their  incon- 
sistencies and  imperfections,  and  at  the  same  time 
crush  our  egotism  by  teaching  us  how  very  limited 
are  our  powers  when  we  attempt  to  grasp  the  uni- 
versal and  infinite  principles  which  underlie  and  sup- 
port creation. 

This  age  is  the  incarnation  of  utilitarianism.  It 
can  understand  nor  appreciate,  only  as  it  perceives 
the  use  and  end.  Out  of  its  mechanical  view  of 
nature  has  arisen  a  school  of  philosophy  of  which  no 
other  age  could  have  dreamed.  The  doctrines  of 
Paley  have  extended  wherever  an  Anglo-Saxon 
dwells.  He  gave  scientific  cast  to  the  doctrines  of 
final  cause,  the  ignoble  theory  of  design  in  nature. 

The  doctrine  of  special  design  leads  necessarily  to 
the  individualization,  the  personality  of  a  deity,  su- 
perior and  outside  of  nature  ;  existing  prior  to  and 
creating  the  external  world.  For,  if  there  is  design, 
there  must  be  a  designer,  and  that  designer  must 
have  power  to  put  his  designs  in  execution.  If  so, 
then  he  is  but  an  extension  of  a  reasoning  being  ; 
an  enlargement  of  man.  He  is  a  man  with  unlimi- 
ted power. 


A  Personal  God.  185 

There  are  two  arguments,  each  conclusive,  against 
the  existence  of  such  a  being  : 

First :  An  individuaUty  is  necessarily  circum- 
scribed, for  its  limitation  makes  it  such.  If  circum- 
scribed, it  is  not  infinite,  but  finite  ;  and  a  finite  be- 
ing cannot  control  infinite  power  or  possess  infinite 
intelligence. 

Second :  Something  cannot  originate  from  noth- 
ing. If  such  a  being  exists,  he  must  be  an  entity, 
which  presupposes  the  incarnation  of  matter,  how- 
ever refined,  and  his  creation  and  existence  become 
a  far  more  perplexing  problem  than  the  creation  of 
the  universe  itself.  For  it  is  an  axiom  that  it  is 
easier  to  create  the  lesser  than  the  greater  ;  and  how 
much  more  rational  to  suppose  the  self-existence  of 
matter,  than  of  a  being  capable  of  evoking  matter 
from  nonentity  by  a  thought ! 

Such  are  the  arguments  against  the  existence  of  a 
personal  God.  They  are  not  applicable,  however,  to 
the  supposition  of  an^all-pervading  essence,  in  which 
some  philosophers  believe,  not  outside  of  matter,  but 
rather  its  spirit,  its  life,  and  vital  force.  I  shall  reach 
this  position  after  following  out  ahdtlier  course  of 
thought. 

According  to  the  doctrine  of  final  cause,  we  are  to 
stop  our  investigations  when  we  reach  the  use  of  a 
thing,  and  thence  refer  it  to  the  divine  artificer. 
The  eye  is  made  to  see,  the  ear  to  hear,  the  tongue 
to  speak,  the  limbs  to  walk,  and  so  on  through  the 
endless   catalogue.    This  gross  philosophy  can  see 


1 86     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

nothing  higher  than  mechanical  use ;  and  a  machine, 
as  a  watch,  is  its  constant  illustration. 

The  nautilus,  with  its  nicely  divided  and  adjusted 
air-chambered  cell,  its  oars,  its  sails,  its  rudder,  very- 
beautiful,  and  nicely  adapted  to  the  conditions  in 
which  it  is  placed,  are  conclusive  proof,  it  is  affirmed, 
of  design  in  structure.  The  carnivora  are  especially 
designed  to  keep  the  herbivora  within  bounds. 
They  were  created  for  that  object,  and  no  other. 
Volumes  might  be  filled  with  such  instances  which 
are  trumpted  forth  as  conclusive  evidence  of  design. 

The  animals  of  the  north  have  a  thick  covering  of 
fur ;  while  those  at  the  equator  are  generally  des- 
titute, or  only  clothed  with  hair.  Is  this  from  de- 
sign, or  the  direct  effect  of  climate  .-*  The  answer 
is  given  when  the  fur  or  wool  clad  animal,  transferred 
to  the  equator,  in  a  few  generations  loses  its  fur  or 
wool,  and  becomes  covered  with  hairs.  Is  the  deer 
given  long  legs  to  enable  it  to  be  fleet,  or  is  it  fleet 
because  it  has  long  legs  .-*  Let  us  not  place  the  ef- 
fect for  the  cause.  How  many  abortive  attempts  does 
nature  make  to  every  success .-'  When  conditions 
are  wrong,  there  is  failure,  inevitably.  Darwin  has 
traced  the  wondrous  lines  of  animal  progress,  and 
shown  how  only  by  repeated  and  innumerable  fail- 
ures the  present  equilibrium,  which  is  called  design, 
has  been  reached.  *     There  is  no  accident. 

"  There  reigns  everywhere,  in  consequence  of  the 
immutability  of  nature's  laws,  a  certain  necessity 
which  admits  of  no  exception."  f 

*  Origin  of  Species.  f  Buchner. 


The  Doctrine  of  Design.  187 

The  paleontological  history  of  the  earth  proves  be- 
yond question  that  organic  Hfe  is  as  delicate  to  the 
varying  external  conditions  as  the  needle  to  the 
electric  current.  This  vast  series  of  extinct  and  liv- 
ing forms  "  presents  itself  before  us,"  says  De  Jou- 
vencel,  "  not  as  the  execution  of  a  natural  plan,  but 
as  an  historical  result,  continually  modified  by  a 
multitude  of  causes,  which  have  acted  consecutively, 
and  in  which  every  accident,  every  irregularity,  rep- 
resents the  action  of  a  cause.  The  plan  —  in  the 
sense  in  which  the  expression  is  employed  —  does 
not  exist.  The  forces  act  necessarily  blindly,  and 
from  their  concurrence  beings  take  their  origin.  To 
believe  that  nature  follows  a  serial  plan  is  a  grave 
error.  The  series  is  a  resultant,  and  not  an  idea  of 
nature  :  it  is  nature  itself"  As  Kant  remarks,  "  It 
is  reflecting  reason  which  brought  design  into  the 
world,  and  which  admires  a  wonder  created  by  itself" 

We  should  infer  a  priori,  from  these  premises,  that, 
as  the  equilibrium  of  forces  cannot  be  at  once  gained, 
nature  would  present  strange  freaks  and  anomalies. 
Thus  there  are  poisonous  reptiles,  insects,  and  plants ; 
parasites  which  seem  created  for  no  other  purpose 
but  giving  pain  to  other  animals  ;  locusts  darken- 
ing the  air,  and  leaving  famine  in  their  flight ;  the 
entozoa,  as  the  tape-worm,  existing  only  to  multiply, 
and  thereby  cause  suffering  to  higher  animals,  —  do 
not  speak  well  for  an  intelligent  designer.  Such  in- 
stances have  always  been  difficult  points  for  theology, 
and  it  has  assumed  that  the  sin  committed  by  man 
brought  this  antagonism  into  being :  geology,  how- 


1 88     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

ever,  proves  that  it  existed  ages  before  man  came  in- 
.  to  existence.  It  has  attempted  to  account  in  the 
same  manner  for  disease.  Science  teaches  that  dis- 
ease is  as  old  as  organic  life.  The  younger  or 
more  primitive  —  in  other  words,  the  more  savage  —  a 
people  are,  the  more  subject  are  they  to  disgusting 
and  destructive  diseases,  as  is  proved  by  the  history 
of  all  rude  peoples.  In  proportion  as  they  become 
civilized,  life  is  lengthened. 

Is  there  design  in  monstrosities ;  in  the  birth  of 
beings  which  from  organization  cannot  exist  as  indi- 
viduals .■•  To  account  for  such,  the  ancients  referred 
them  to  the  wrath  of  the  gods.  Births  without 
limbs,  or  with  two  heads,  or  entirely  destitute  of  a 
brain,  are  not  uncommon.  Of  the  latter,  Prof  Lotze 
remarks,  "  If  the  foetus  is  without  a  brain,  it  would 
be  but  judicious,  in  a  force  having  a  free  choice,  to 
suspend  its  action,  that  such  a  miserable  and  pur- 
poseless creature  may  exist  for  a  time,  appears  to 
us  strikingly  to  prove  that  the  final  result  always 
depends  upon  the  disposition  of  purely  mechanical 
definite  forces,  which,  once  set  in  motion,  proceed 
straight  on,  according  to  the  law  of  inertia,  until  they 
meet  with  an  obstruction." 

The  healing  power  or  vital  force  of  nature  is  a 
myth.  When  proper  conditions  exist,  the  wound 
heals  ;  but,  otherwise,  inflammation,  suppuration,  or 
mortification,  take  place  with  equal  facility.  It-is  said 
that  nature  has  antidotes  for  every  disease.  Medi- 
cal science  has  long  ago  discarded  this  specific  ac- 
tion of  remedies  ;  and,  even  had  it  not,  how  despica- 


Design  in  Creation.  189 

ble  that  design  which  creates  an   evil   in  order  to 
bestow  an  antidote,  when  it  would  have  been  better* 
to  have  created  neither  ! 

A  trivial  accident  may  change  the  whole  process 
of  nature  ;  as  the  healthy  foetus  may  by  one  unto- 
ward act  of  the  mother  become  a  hideous  monster. 
Can  the  idea  of  an  active  conscious  power  be  recon- 
cilable with  such  results  ?  Nothing  is  gained  by 
saying  such  an  omnipotent  consciousness  presup- 
poses the  perfect  understanding  of  all  possible  con- 
sequences. 

Is  the  earth  created  for  man  ?  A  very  poor  cre- 
ation if  so.  With  what  labor  and  suffering  he  sub- 
dues a  litle  spot  sufficient  for  a  dwelling  !  Many  of 
the  finest  adaptations  are  the  work  of  his  intelligence : 
as  the  horse,  to  Arabia ;  the  camel,  to  the  deserts  of 
Africa ;  the  olive,  to  Italy  ;  the  grape,  to  the  Rhine  ; 
the  apple,  pear,  peach,  grape,  cereals,  and  grasses,  ox, 
horse,  and  sheep,  to  the  vast  American  continent. 

Man  employs  the  minerals,  metals,  and  stone 
found  in  the  earth's  crust  for  purposes  of  comfort 
and  convenience,  and  it  is  said  a  beautiful  design  is 
shown  in  the  manner  they  are  distributed  through 
the  earth's  crust.  The  coal  and  iron  fields  of  the 
great  West  are  often  quoted.  But  what  shall  we 
think  of  the  vast  iron  beds  of  Pilot  Knob  and  Iron 
Mountain,  far  away  from  the  coal  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  make  that  ore,  the  richest  and  best  in  the 
world,  of  any  benefit .-'  The  theologian  may  specu- 
late :  but  the  philosopher,  as  he  reviews  the  field,  can 
see  only  the  action  of  forces  moving  forward  to  their 


190     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

determinate  results  ;  and  man  wrenches  from  them 
•  the  assistance  he  may  require,  or,  as  often  happens, 
is  crushed  by  their  unchangeable  movements. 

The  theory  of  final  cause,  placing  God  as  a  direct 
actor,  creating  the  universe  as  a  mechanic,  and  al- 
ways at  work,  directly  superintending,  is  Jhe  most 
easy  method  of  accounting  for  the  phenomena  of  the 
world. 

It  is  an  easy  philosophy.  It  makes  great  preten- 
sions to  wisdom  and  learning,  but  requires  little 
thought  on  the  part  of  its  votaries  :  it  burdens  them 
not  with  reflection,  never  leaves  them  on  their  own 
responsibility  ;  but  permits  them,  slipshod,  to  reason 
as  far  as  they  can,  and  leave  the  rest  to  God.  It  is 
an  easy^pHllosopTfyT^esIowihg" quiet  and  the  comfort 
of  indolence.  On  the  other  hand,  that  system  which 
ignores  final  cause  and  design  throws  the  student 
on  his  own  resources,  and  bids  him  sink  or  swim. 
If  he  dive  a  thousand  fathoms  into  the  sea  of  truth, 
the  light  of  the  pearls  he  finds  there  always  reveals 
another  thousand  to  be  explored,  with  a  deep  sea- 
floor  strown  with  gems  of  greater  lustre.  Ever  a 
great  truth  beyond  underlies  and  absorbs  all  present 
knowledge ;  and,  so  far  from  being  able  to  fall  back 
into  the  lap  of  a  final  cause,  he  becomes  more  and 
more  assured,  every  step  he  advances,  that,  although 
he  live  a  million  ages,  ever  will  unknown  causes 
arise  in  the  dim  beyond,  embracing  all  his  previous 
knowledge. 

One  doctrine  is  the  fosteriiig,_motheiL,.of  egotism 
an^^  self-sufficiency ;   the  other,  of  humility  and   a 


Intelligence  in  Nature,  191 

sense  of  the  feebleness  of  human  efforts  to  fathom 
the  unknown.  If  we  cast  aside  the  doctrine  of  final-* 
ity  and  design,  how  can  we  account  rationally  for 
the  phenomena  of  nature  which  so  admirably  coun- 
terfeit these  ?  It  is  true,  then,  when  we  superficially 
view  the  external  world,  we  are  strongly  impressed 
with  this  adaptation  :  means  are  employed  for  cer- 
tain ends ;  causes  run  given  courses  to  their  effects  ; 
and  there  is  an  order  which  seems  to  presuppose  an 
Omnipotent  Being  behind  the  curtain  of  the  exter- 
nal world,  who,  like  an  all-seeing  monarch,  sends 
out  mandates  from  the  fountain  of  an  omnipotent 
will.  Such,  I  say,  is  the  appearance.  We  see  that 
which,  in  a  remarkable  manner,  counterfeits  the  in- 
telligence of  man.  To  our  finite  comprehension  it 
takes  the  form  of  an  infinitely  extended  intelligence 
supported  by  infinite  power.  We  look  out  into  na- 
ture as  into  a  mirror,  and  we  see  ourselves  reflected 
there.  The  intelligence  we  see  is  our  own  intelli- 
gence, slightly  magnified ;  and  the  will  power  our 
own,  enlarged.  It  is  a  personality :  we  cannot 
dodge  that.  Say  what  we  will,  talk  of  an  imper- 
sonal essence,  an  omnipotent  principle,  as  we  will, 
yet  the  bald  fact  stares  us  in  the  face.  We  cannot 
conceive  of  an  existence  without  personality,  or  an 
essence  without  being.  Still  worse  is  the  dilemma 
when  the  supposed  faculty  of  the  human  mind,  ven- 
eration for  Deity,  is  brought  forward  as  proving  the 
existence  of  such  an  essence.  For,  say  these  theo- 
rists, man  is  a  reverential  being.  He  has  veneration 
for  a  superior  being ;  which  desire  presupposes  its 


192     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

answer,  —  the  existence  of  a  being  to  worship.  But 
how  worship  a  principle  ?  How  reverence  an  imper- 
sonal essence  ?  How  feel  grateful  or  loving  towards 
an  attribute  ?  It  is  impossible.  As  soon  as  these 
feelings  arise,  the  attribute  becomes  incarnated : 
we  are  worshiping  a  personality.  What  is  this  be- 
ing }  Our  own  ideas  incarnated.  In  proof,  is  Jeho- 
vah more  than  an  unlimited  Jew,  the  most  cruel, 
bloodthirsty,  and  criminal  race  the  sun  ever  shone 
upon  }  Is  Brahma  more  than  the  ideal  of  the 
cringing,  servile  Hindoo  .-•  Is  Ormuzd  more  than 
the  reflection  of  the  highly  imaginary  and  heated 
fancy  of  the  Persian  .-*  Is  Christ  more  than  the 
enlargment  of  refined  morality  as  exhibited  in  de- 
veloped man  .■'  Is  any  man's  god  much  greater 
than  himself  .<•  Does  he  possess  power  or  faculties 
which  he  cannot  suppose  himself  capable  of  pos- 
sessing ?  These  are  pertinent  questions,  which 
never  have  been,  never  can  be,  met ;  and  their  an- 
swer unravels  all  the  mysteries  of  the  theologies  of 
the  world.  While  man  has  thought  to  worship  God* 
he  has  worshiped,  instead,  the  reflected  image  of 
himself. 

Jehovah  is  a  tyrannical  Jew ;  Jove,  a  brave  and 
amorous  Greek ;  Ormuzd,  a  Persian  ;  Brahma,  a 
cruel,  domineering  Hindoo,  in  power  ;  Christ,  the 
highest  ideal  of  any  race  to  which  he  is  introduced. 

As  each  individual,  who  sees  the  rainbow,  sees  a 
different  bow,  because  his  standpoint  is  different,  so 
no-two  individuals  believe  in  the  same  God,  because 
each  sees  his  own  image. 


Eternity  of  Matter.  193 

Back  of  all  mechanical  schemes  of  creation,  back 
of  the  gross  theories  of  use,  of  contrivance,  which 
smell  strongly  of  burnt  oil,  the  smoke  of  the  shop 
and  the  foundry,  are  principles  which  overflow  and 
obliterate  all  other  conceptions.  To  these  let  us 
now  turn,  not  with  bared  head  and  unsandaled  feet, 
but  clad  with  the  mantle  of  a  reasoning  philosophy, 
which  teaches  that  no  domain  is  sacred  ;  that  a 
milkman's  yard,  and  the  courts  of  heaven,  are  equally 
holy. 

Matter  is  eternal.  We  need  not  pause  to  prove 
this  axiom  on  which  all  strictly  scientific  reasoning 
rests.  As  a  self-evident  truth  it  stands  forth,  chal- 
lenging refutation.  We  are  at  least  as  well  justified 
in  asserting  this,  as  are  those  who  suppose  its  crea- 
tion in  asserting  the  self-existence  of  a  being  capable 
of  creating  it.  Call  this  doctrine  a  wild,  unsupported 
assertion  :  it  is  a  justifiable  one.  •  It  is  not  an  as- 
sertion, however.  Axioms  are  based  on  experience. 
All  reasoning  rests  there  ;  all  science,  all  philosophy. 
Experience  shows  that  matter  cannot  either  be  cre- 
ated or  destroyed  by  any  agent  now  existing,  and 
the  constitution  of  matter  shows  that  it  is  impossible 
for  any  such  agency  to  exist. 

Now  arises  the  pertinent  question,  "  What  is  mat- 
ter }  "  Can  the  ultimate  molecule,  of  which  matter 
by  some  philosophers  is'  supposed  to  be  composed, 
be  disrobed  of  its  properties,  and  stand  out  alone  ? 
We  cannot  conceive  of  such  an  existence.  With- 
out gravity,  it  could  have  no  weight,  no  attractions, 
no  repulsions ;  could  not  enter  any  organization 
13 


194     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

whatever,  either  in  mineral,  vegetable,  or  animal. 
Without  extension  and  impenetrability,  the  world 
might  be  crowded  into  a  nutshell,  and  then  have  no 
consistency.  Heated,  indeed,  must  be  the  imagina- 
tion which  can  fancy  the  existence  of  a  world  formed 
of  such  materials.  Rob  matter  of  these  attributes, 
and  nothing  is  left. 

Still  worse,  if  the  German  theory  be  received,  that 
what  we  call  an  atom  is  a  pulsating  centre  or  math- 
ematical point,  from  which  attributes  are  emanated  ; 
for  then,  if  we  rob  the  centre  of  its  pulsations,  noth- 
ing remains. 

These  attribtites  are  co-eternal  and  co-existent  with 
matter.  What  are  these  attributes  .>*  In  all  inves- 
tigations, we  must  start  somewhere.  There  must 
be  a  definite  beginning :  and  without  questioning 
the  origin  of  matter,  what  it  is,  and  the  birth  of 
its  attributes,  thus  involving  ourselves  in  an  unlimi- 
ted maze  of  conjecture,  for  which  there  can  be  not  a 
shadow  of  positive  proof,  we  start  from  premises  that 
"WQ  can  prove;  and  when  others  come  after,  and  ex- 
tend the  horizon  of  thought,  perhaps  beyond  these 
attributes  may  lie  others,  and  others  beyond  them, 
and  a  personal  God  beyond  all ;  but,  until  then,  we 
must  wait. 

Perhaps,  as  has  been  suggested,  they  are  the  will 
of  Deity.  Granted.  They  may  be ;  but  in  the  absence 
of  all  proof,  of  all  knowledge  whatever,  it  is  better 
to  let  the  matter  rest  until  the  conjecture  at  least 
has  a  shade  of  evidence  in  its  support. 

We  are  now  rapidly  approaching  the  unfolding  of 


Primary  Condition  of  Matter.       195 

the  principles  which  underlie  the  design  and  adap- 
tation observed  in  nature.  We  began  far  down, 
and  came  upward,  carefully  grounding  our  argument 
on  the  firm  basis  of  the  eternity  of  matter  and  the 
co-eternity  of  its  attributes,  by  which  term  we  mean 
its  properties. 

Matter,  when  first  brought  to  view  by  the  far-see- 
ing inverted  telescope,  which  retrospects  the  million 
eons  of  past  duration,  was  a  gaseous  chaos.  It  may 
have  been  heated,  —  it  may  not  have  been  ;  a  ques- 
tion which  cannot  be  determined.  This  much  we 
know :  there  was  a  time,  which  we  call  the  begin- 
ning, when  the  universe  existed  as  a  gaseous  ocean. 
From  such  a  vast  object  of  contemplation  let  us  turn 
to  the  consideration  of  our  solar  system,  which  is 
quite  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  » grasp  of  human 
thought.  It  is  a  chaotic  ocean  of  vapor  floating  in 
space.  It  has  not  yet  been  acted  on  by  any  exter- 
nal force.  It  is  so  far  removed  that  no  external  body 
can  act  on  it.  Watch  what  occurs.  Left  alone  to 
obey  the  dictation  of  its  attributes,  gravity  rounds 
the  mass  ;  for,  there  being  more  matter  towards  the 
centre  than  in  the  opposite  direction^  each  particle 
is  drawn  inward,  and,  as  an  equilibrium  must  be  es- 
tablished, the  ocean  is  rounded.  Each  particle  takes 
a  straight  line  for  the  centre,  but  it  is  infinitely  im- 
probable that  a  perfect  equilibrium  should  be  at  once 
established.  If  there  are  more  particles  on  one  side 
than  the  other,  instead  of  going  directly  to  the  cen- 
tre, the  particles  will  take  a  spiral  line  to  that  point, 
the  whole  mass  will  rotate  on  its  axis,  which  rotation 


196     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

will  increase  until  the  attraction  of  the  external  par- 
ticles will  be  overcome,  and  a  succession  of  rings  be 
thrown  off.  These  rings  will  consolidate  into  worlds, 
having  relatively  the  density,  size,  and  distance  of 
the  planets  from  our  sun.  A  similar  process  will 
eliminate  the  moons  by  the  rotation  of  their  nacent 
planets. 

Is  there  design  here }  It  is  matter  obeying  the 
dictates  of  its  attributes,  driven  onward  by  the  stern 
necessity  of  their  decrees,  and  these  are  issued  with 
all  the  regularity  and  certainty  of  mathematics :  in 
fact,  mathematics  is  based  on  them,  and  its  most 
sublime  feat  is  the  exposition  of  their  laws  and 
method  of  action. 

If  the  solar  system  was  created  by  design,  and 
with  special  reference  to  the  sentient  and  intellectual 
beings  which  inhabit  it,  a  few  queries  arise,  each  one 
of  which  must  be  answered  straightforward,  without 
reference  to  mystery.  Why  were  not  the  large  planets 
placed  near  the  sun,  instead  of  so  far  off  that  its  rays 
can  be  of  little  service  to  them  }  If  the  moons  are 
to  give  light  to  their  planets,  why  were  they  not  cre- 
ated larger }  and  why,  as  in  cases  of  Saturn  and  Ju- 
piter, the  smaller  next  to  the  planets,  and  the  largest 
so  far  removed  as  to  be  of  little  or  no  service  as 
luminaries .?  So  of  the  stars,  if  to  give  light  is  their 
object.  Would  it  not  have  been  better  to  have 
given  Saturn  one  sun  to  revolve  around  him,  than 
six  moons,  the  combined  rays  of  which  give  not 
much  more  light  than  the  earth's  satellite  "i  It  is 
supposed  to  be  so  hot  on  Mercury,  that  living  be- 


•  There  is  no  Chance.  197 

ings  cannot  exist  there  ;  and  hence  its  creation  is  a 
failure,  —  it  subserves  no  possible  use.  Comets,  too, 
are  out  of  place  in  a  system  made  by  an  all-wise 
design :  they  are  egregious  blunders,  every  one  of 
them  ;  reflecting  on  the  character  of  the  being  who 
made  them,  if  made  by  design. 

How  stale  and  unprofitable  the  doctrine  which 
provokes  such  questions  !  With  a  loathing  sickness 
I  turn  from  it  to  the  beautiful  domain  of  nature, 
where  worlds  and  systems  are  eliminated  by  the 
mandates  of  inherent  attributes,  with  all  the  precis- 
ion and  certainty  of  mathematics.  Each  world  ex- 
ists, has  its  size,  form,  position,  fixed  by  inexorable 
decree.  Nothing  is  fortuitous.  There  is  no  chance. 
Like  a  great  self-adjusting  wheel,  creation  moves  on- 
ward without  a  discord.  The  equilibrium  is  dis- 
turbed. Planets,  like  vast  pendulums,  swing  to  and 
fro  as  the  grand  chronometer  beats  the  march  of 
ages ;  but  the  regulating  forces  ever  bring  them,  after 
centuries  perhaps,  to  their  true  place.  The  star- 
continents  of  space  roll  onward  in  their  orbits.  The 
force  which  rounds  the  dew-drop  rolls  out  the  great 
world,  and  cannot  be  gainsaid. 

For  a  moment,  suppose  an  omnipotent  being  out- 
side of  nature  should  will  the  earth  to  become 
square  :  it  would  roll  onward,  —  the  spheroid  gravity 
has  shaped  it.  Such  a  being  would  be  useless  in 
the  structure  of  nature,  which  demands  no  power  at 
the  crank  to  turn  her  ponderous  machinery  ;  for  hers 
is  a  perpetual  motion,  with  power  within  itself  ade- 
quate for  all  ends. 


198     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

If  special  design  fails  to  answer  why  six  moons 
and  three  rings  were  given  Saturn,  while  only  four 
were  given  Uranus,  twice  as  far  removed  from  the 
sun  ;  why  one  was  given  the  earth,  and  none  to 
Mars,  twice  as  far  from  the  sun  ;  or  what  freak  of 
fancy  gave  Saturn  his  rings,  and  refused  rings  to  all 
the  other  planets,  —  the  theory  of  creation  by  law, 
backed  by  power  flowing  from  attributes,  does  ac- 
count for  these  phenomena  and  all  others. 

Equally  faulty  is  it  when  it  attempts  to  account 
for  the  origin  and  development  of  life.  Let  us  pre- 
sent the  facts  as  they  are  revealed  in  the  rocky  tab- 
lets of  earth.  The  huge  volume  of  geological  and 
paloeontological  history,  miles  in  thickness,  can  be 
condensed  into  a  few  pages. 

From  the  vapor  ocean  of  the  beginning,  the  earth 
was  born.  It  was  an  intensely  heated  sphere  of  gas. 
Eons  of  ages  swept  by.  It  emanated  its  heat ;  be- 
came liquid  lava.  A  solid  crust  formed  over  the  mass. 
Water  condensed.  Life  came.  What  form  of  life 
peopled  the  black  thermal  seas,  which  swept  past 
the  rugged  peaks  that  frowned  through  the  sooty  at- 
mosphere of  those  primordial  ages  ?  Was  it  fish, 
reptilian,  or  mammalian }  Nay,  the  lowest  of  all, 
lower  than  mammal,  lower  than  reptile,  lower  than 
fish,  lower  than  mollusc,  than  the  vegetating  sponge, 
—  a  line  of  jelly  floating  in  the  waves. 

From  that  simple  beginning  life  arose :  higher  and 
higher  beings  peopled  the  globe.  Fishes  came,  rep- 
tiles came,  mammals  came  ;  and,  last  and  highest, 
man  stepped  forth  on  this  planet,  claiming  it  as  his. 


Design  in  Nature.  199 

A  rude  being  was  he  then,  in  his  natal  days,  clothed 
in  the  garments  nature  gives  the  beasts  of  the  wood 
and  fieJd.  Such,  O  theologian  !  are  the  facts :  how 
meet  them  with  your  argument  of  special  design  ? 
If  God  is  an  infinite,  all-wise,  good,  and  benevolent 
being  ;  if  he  had,  as  you  assert,  perfect  control  over 
matter,  —  why  did  he  not  at  once  evoke  a  perfect 
world  into  existence,  instead  of  the  rude  model  of  the 
design  ?  and  why  permit  it  to  toil  for  a  millennium  of 
ages  through  pain  and  misery  to  its  present  attain- 
ments ?  This  is  not  a  cavil :  it  is  logic.  A  perfect 
being,  with  omnipotence,  cannot  create  other  than 
a  perfect  world.  The  question  is  a  home  thrust 
at  your  cherished  dogmas.  Again,  why  permit  it 
to  remain  as  imperfect  as  it  is  when  one  mandate 
would  give  us  paradise  } 

Has  man  fallen  ?  Are  we  depraved .''  Were 
things  once  perfect  ?  You  will  find  that  these 
mythological  fables  and  Indian  legends  cannot  save 
you. 

It  mu^t  be  admitted  that  creation  by  law,  and  the 
existence  of  a  personal  God,  are  at  open  war  ;  and, 
if  one  be  received,  the  othei*  must  be  denied,  for  if 
God  cannot  work  except  through  prescribed  chan- 
nels, marked  out  by  the  laws  of  matter,  of  what  use 
is  he  in  the  economy  of  the  universe  }  And  equally 
of  what  use  if  the  other  side  be  adopted  .-•  We 
have  other  questions  to  ask,  and  volumes  might  be 
filled  with  them.  Why  is  it,  although  many  crea- 
tions have  been  swept  from  the  earth,  and  over  a 
million   species  now  exist,  one  plan  runs   through 


200     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

them  all  ?  Why  do  all  pattern  after  a  given  arche- 
type ?  The  theory  of  creation  by  law  makes  the  an- 
swers plain  and  clear  ;  that  of  design,  the  reverse. 

Man  sets  out  for  an  aquatic  animal.  He  has  the 
gill  openings  and  circulating  system  of  fishes,  yet 
he  is  born  fitted  for  terrestrial  life.  What  is  the  ob- 
ject of  metamorphosis  throughout  the  countless  ranks 
of  living  beings }  Is  it  not  because  they  have  a  com- 
mon origin,  and  that  the  realm  of  life  is  a  unit } 

We  have  asked  our  last  question.  We  leave  the 
special  pleaders  the  field,  and  turn  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  origin  of  what  has  been  mistaken  for  in- 
telligence and  design.  What  is  the  intelligence  seen 
in  nature }  Is  it  of  the  same  kind  as  that  manifested 
by  an  intelligent  being.?  An  intelligent  being  is 
one  capable  of  employing  means,  adapting  cause  to 
effect ;  of  willing,  manufacturing,  creating.  Can  and 
does  the  intelligence  seen  in  nature  thus  act }  If 
so,  we  must  of  necessity  presuppose  an  intelligent 
being  residing  in  or  above  matter ;  a  conclusion 
which  has  already  been  disproved.  How  then  shall 
this  intelligence  be  defined }  It  is  the  harmony  pro- 
duced by  the  equilibrium  of  airthe  causes  and  effects 
in  the  universe.  Worlds  are  round  because  origi- 
nally fluid,  and  a  fluid  mass  suspended  in  space  can 
assume  no  other  form.  The  poles  and  equator  were 
established  by  the  spheroidicity  given  by  the  rota- 
tion of  a  fluid  mass,  —  not  because  an  intelligence 
acted,  but  because  by  no  other  means  could  har- 
mony result ;  and,  until  harmony  reigned,  action  and 
re-action  must  go  on. 


Design  in  Nature.  201 

If  there  were  but  one  road  from  one  city  to  an- 
other, and  that  narrowly  hedged  on  either  side  by 
impassible  barriers,  it  would  argue  no  great  degree 
of  intelligence,  even  in  an  idiot,  to  go  softly  over  it. 
Such  is  the  road  matter  travels,  propelled  by  causes 
to  given  effects.  It  is  not  intelligence  :  it  is  neces- 
sity of  organization. 

The  rain  falls.  It  is  refreshing  to  plant  and  ani- 
mal. The  world  rejoices  in  the  shower.  Is  intelli- 
gence concerned  in  the  taking-up  the  waters  of  the 
sea  and  lake,  and  drenching  the  thirsty  continents  } 
Let  us  see.  The  air  by  its  gaseous  constitution  is 
capable  of  absorbing  moisture.  The  warmer  it  is,  the 
more  moisture  it  is  capable  of  containing.  When- 
ever its  temperature  is  lowered,  it  gives  out  the 
moisture  absorbed  at  a  higher  temperature.  Con- 
sequently, whenever  a  cold  and  warm  current  of  air 
meet,  rain  is  produced ;  or,  if  the  cold  current 
chances  to  be  cold  enough,  hail  or  snow.  The  same 
cause  which  gives  the  delightful  spring  shower,  to 
refresh  the  violets,  piles  the  avalanche  on  the  Alpine 
heights,  and  sends  the  devastating  hail  to  destroy 
the  harvest. 

Is  there  design  in  a  hail-storm  sweeping  the  earth 
with  the  besom  of  destruction  }  Is  there  design  in 
the  terrific  whirlwind  overthrowing  the  labor  of  cen- 
turies ?  Is  design  seen  in  the  crash  of  the  earth- 
quake, drinking  up  continents,  and  shutting  its  mut- 
tering jaws  over  populous  cities  t  Is  an  all-wise  in- 
telligence concerned  in  these  effects  .<*  How  fero- 
cious must  that  intelligence  be !  how  unmindful  of 


202    Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

the  happiness  of  man  !  Such  phenomena  are  side 
issues  from  the  great  principles  which  underHe  the 
foundation  of  nature.  They  are  consequences  of  a 
disturbed  equiUbrium  which  the  elements  strive  to 
maintain. 

O  man  !  O  philosopher !  when  will  you  recognize 
this  fact,  and  not  charge  a  Deity  with  such  outpour- 
ings of  wrath  ? 

Astonishing  is  a  living  being ;  mysterious  in 
structure.  How  explain  its  existence  otherwise  than 
by  supposing  a  direct  miracle  a  creation  by  special 
fiat  of  an  almighty  being  ?  Perhaps  it  cannot  be 
explained,  for  a  living  being  epitomizes  the  universe  ; 
and  as  little,  comparatively,  is  known  of  the  laws  of 
life,  it  is  premature  to  hazard  even  conjecture  on  the 
mysteries  of  organization.  This  we  know,  —  that  a 
living  being  represents,  is  the  centralization  of,  all 
causes  and  conditions  which  have  operated  on  it 
and  its  progenitors,  since  the  dawn  of  life,  in  the 
ocean  of  the  beginning.  We  have  a  long  series  of 
conditions  to  investigate,  and  our  investigation  ends 
in  pronouncing  life  the  result  of  conditions  brought 
about  by  and  through  this  long  series  of  organic  t^'pes. 
The  living  being  —  man,  for  instance  —  began  its 
individualization  with  the  dawn  of  life  on  this  planet, 
and  has  only  attained  its  present  degree  by  progress 
through  centuries  as  countless  as  the  sand-grains  on 
the  ocean's  shore.  All  this  series  is  swept  away. 
We  can  superficially  see  only  the  perfected  struct- 
ure. Hence  the  obscurity,  the  mystery,  which  in- 
volves the  living  being.     Rest  assured,  there  is  no 


Design  in  Nature.  203 

more  necessity  for  a  special  creation,  or  of  design, 
here  than  elswhere.  Living  beings  are  not  designed 
for  the  conditions  in  which  they  are  placed,  but 
these  conditions  compel  conformity.  Conform,  or 
perish,  is  their  mandate. 

The  fishes  in  the  Mammoth  Cave  are  said  to  be 
destitute  of  eyes.  They  are  not  deprived  of  those 
organs  because  they  would  be  useless  in  the  absence 
of  light ;  but  because,  in  the  absence  of  light,  their 
eyes  remain  undeveloped.  Man  does  not  possess 
lungs  to  breathe  air ;  but,  because  there  is  air  to  be 
breathed,  he  has  lungs.  Throughout  this  whole  se- 
ries the  effect  has  been  placed  for  the  cause,  and  vice 
versa.  We  have  not  a  brain  to  reason  and  reflect, 
but  we  reason  and  reflect  because  we  have  a  brain. 
We  might  enumerate  an  endless  catalogue  of  such 
instances  ;  but  the  idea  is  sufficiently  illustrated. 

All  this  reasoning  can  be  overthrown  by  suppos- 
ing the  existence  of  an  impersonal  intelligence.  It 
has  been  attempted  to  prove  the  impossibility  of  the 
existence  of  such  an  essence,  but  perhaps  not  satis- 
factorily. 

Suppose  such  an  essence  exists :  where  is  it } 
what  is  it }  It  immediately  becomes  confounded 
with  what  we  have  called  the  attributes  of  matter. 
From  these  it  cannot  be  separated ;  and,  as  such,  its 
existence  is  admitted.  Why,  then,  not  acknowledge  it 
under  that  name  ?  Because  we  will  not  admit  a  term 
which  not  only  conveys  a  false  impression,  but  leads 
to  grossest  error.  We  demand  scientific  accuracy, 
and  we  can  only  have  it  by  calling  things  by  their 


204     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

right  names.  An  attribute  is  not  an  essence.  It  is 
devoid  of  intelligence,  which  is  not  manifested  until 
the  end  is  reached.  The  effect,  though  flowing  from 
unintelligent  causes,  we  call  an  intelligent  effect. 

Now  comes  the  metaphysician  armed  cap-a-pie 
with  words  to  demolish  us  in  the  unfortunate  dilem- 
ma to  which  at  last  we  have  reduced  ourselves.  He 
asks,  "  Can  a  stream  rise  higher  than  its  source  }  " 
Granted.  "  Can  intelligence  flow  from  unintelligent 
causes  ? "  No.  My  good  sir,  refer  to  our  pre- 
vious reasoning,  and  you  will  find  that  we  deny  the 
identity  between  the  intelligence  manifested  in  man, 
and  that  observed  in  nature.  They  are  wholly  unlike, 
and  only  counterfeit  each  other  in  appearance.  You 
are  thus  unfortunate,  and  your  questions  wholly  im- 
pertinent. 

We  plow  our  fields  with  design  to  sow.  Nature 
regulates  our  harvests.  The  intelligence  which  sows 
the  wheat,  and  that  which  causes  it  to  grow,  cannot 
be  compared.  It  has  been  strongly  argued  that  the 
compensation  seen  in  nature  bore  strong  testimony 
in  favor  of  a  designer.  Accidents  seem  to  be  pro- 
vided for :  disturbances  and  perturbations  in  plane- 
tary masses,  and  in  living  beings,  are  balanced  by 
other  disturbing  forces  as  by  prophetic  foresight,  so 
that  harmony  results  from  antagonism.  If  this  sub- 
ject is  carefully  studied,  however,  compensation  will 
be  found  arrayed  against,  instead  of  favoring,  a  final 
cause. 

We  are  early  impressed  with  the  beautiful  com- 
pensations presented  in  nature ;  for  we  learn  it  before 


Design  in  Nature.  205 

our  alphabet,  and  it  dawns  on  the  mature  mind  of 
manhood  in  eternal  beauty. 

The  child  eagerly  reads  in  his  philosophy  how 
the  blow  of  a  hammer  moves  the  earth  ;  and,  when 
a  stone  falls  to  the  ground,  the  whole  mass  of  the 
planet  rushes  forward  to  meet  it.  Still  more  ex- 
alted are  his  conceptions  when  told  that  every 
thought,  however  concealed  and  locked  in  the 
depths  of  his  brain  he  may  keep  it,  pulsates  on  the 
remotest  star  which  twinkles  on  the  mantle  of  night 
So  delicate  do  we  early  learn  the  grand  spheres  are 
strung  and  attuned.  Night,  the  friend  of  darkness 
and  of  rest,  is  compensated  by  a  moon  to  shed  a 
new  splendor,  to  beget  a  second  day  ;  and,  in  the 
sombre  mantle  darkness  casts  over  the  heavens, 
myriad  suns  spring  out,  the  existence  of  which  we 
never  otherwise  would  have  dreamed  of.  Beauties 
spring  from  rankest  deformity.  Ever  are  we  assured 
that  death,  with  all  its  horrid  ghastliness,  will  give 
birth  to  transcendent  forms.  So  is  the  world  adjust- 
ed. The  daddock,  an  unseemly  pile  moldering  back 
to  earth,  was  once  a  mighty  forest  tree,  with  arms 
an  hundred  feet  high,  and  a  green  coronal  of  boughs 
among  which  for  centuries  the  zephyrs  sang  pleas- 
ant songs,  and  the  birds  built  their  mossy  nests, 
and  callow  broods  murmured  love,  or  warbled  from 
swelling  throats  delightful  harmony.  It  molders  to 
dust.  It  dies  to  be  resurrected.  Again  shall  that 
foul  dust  course  through  the  veins  of  life ;  and,  high 
above  the  trees  which  now  look  down  on  its  ruins, 


2o6     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

it  shall  again  hear  the  song  of  the  murmuring  winds, 
the  chirping  wren,  and  full-throated  thrush. 

Such  is  the  perpetual  round.  The  flower  -blooms 
beautiful  to-day.  Nature  labors  a  whole  year  on  a 
rose  or  lily,  or  velvety  tulip,  to  see  her  frail  work 
perish  in  the  hour.  The  green  leaf  is  for  the  whole 
summer,  those  of  the  evergreens  for  the  year ;  but 
the  more  exquisite  flower  absorbs  so  much  of  beauty 
it  perishes  in  the  day  which  gives  its  birth.  We 
love  nature,  because  it  teaches  us  these  divine  com- 
pensations. How  beautiful  the  forget-me-not  on 
the  sunny  bank  ;  and  the  jonquil,  orchis,  and  crocus 
blooming  on  the  edge  of  snow-drifts  cast  from  the 
lap  of  winter  to  perish  in  the  generous  breath  of 
April !  They  early  greet  the  sun  when  he  steps  over 
to  our  hemisphere.  They  are  wanderers  from  that 
northern  clime  where  spring,  summer,  and  autumn 
are  crowded  in  the  space  of  two  months  by  the  re- 
morseless frost-king,  who  ever  there  breathes  a  bit- 
ing breath.  They  awake  at  the  first  touch  of  Sum- 
mer's jeweled  fingers,  bloom,  mature,  and  die  in  a 
day,  and  the  lichen-clad  earth  is  again  ready  for  its 
snow-shroud.  Few  animals  live  in  that  arctic  clime. 
The  reindeer  crops  the  moss  by  the  light  of  the 
northern  fire  which  replaces  the  glories  of  the  sun  ; 
the  polar  bear,  clad  in  thickest  robes,  wanders  over 
the  floes ;  the  whales,  the  seal,  and  other  marine 
mammalia,  are  protected  against  concussions  from 
moving  ice,  and  the  intensely  cold  water,  by  a  thick 
coat  of  blubber,  the  best  non-conductor  of  heat,  the 
best   possible  for  their  defense  ;  and  man  remains 


Design  in  Nature.  207 

there,  dwiarfed  intellectually  to  the  level  of  the  ani- 
mals, the  skins  of  which  he  uses  for  protection,  and 
burrows  in  the  ground  to  escape  the  rigors  of  intol- 
erable cold. 

Here  many  queries  arise !  Are  the  Northern  fires 
designed  to  replace  the  sun  so  long  absent  ?  Are 
the  thick  robes  of  the  bear,  and  its  white  color,  the 
thick  blubber  vesture  of  the  whale,  footmarks  of  an 
intelligent  design  ?  Is  it  true  the  aurora  never  visits 
tropical  regions  because  it  is  not  wanted  there,  and 
the  poles  because  wanted  ?  or  is  such  the  constitution 
of  things  ?  The  cold  air  of  the  poles  fosters  electric 
pulsations,  while  the  hot  tropical  air  dissipates  them. 
The  phenomenon  has  no  direct  relation  to  man,  but 
man  is  related  to  it.  We  shall  arrive  at  the  solution 
of  the  other  questions  by  another  process  of  thought. 

The  plant  is  rooted  to  the  soil.  It  cannot  pursue 
and  capture  its  food.  It  must  take  what  is  brought 
in  direct  contact  with  its  rootlets,  or  perish.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  organization,  its  food  is  the  min- 
eral matter  in  which  its  roots  are  imbedded.  Water 
is  the  universal  solvent  which  not  only  dissolves  its 
food,  presents  it  to  the  rootlets  for  absorption,  but 
serves  as  the  basis  of  its  sap  or  circulating  fluid. 
The  air,  next  to  the  water,  brings  it  food  in  great 
abundance.  Here  is  a  rose-bush  bending  with  its 
delicate  burden  of  beauty,  making  the  air  redolent 
with  perfume.  It  cannot  move  from  its  position. 
See  how  all  nature,  sympathizing  with  it,  runs  ea- 
gerly on  its  errands.  The  winds  drink  great 
draughts   of   water   from   the   ocean,   and    bear   it 


2o8     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

across  the  continents,  showering  the  thirsty  soil, 
washing  the  dust  from  its  dehcate  petals,  drowning 
or  washing  away  destroying  insects.  The  red  light- 
nings rushing  through  the  air,  convert  the  unas- 
similable  nitrogen  into  precious  food  ;  and  the  de- 
scending drops  take  it  up,  and  bring  it  to  the  plant. 
When  the  foundling  is  washed,  slaked,  and  revived, 
the  winds  clothe  themselves  with  the  remnant  vapor, 
and  spread  out  the  folds  of  their  cloud  mantles  to 
screen  it  from  the  scorching  sun,  which  otherwise 
would  devour  too  greedily  the  food  they  have  sup- 
plied. It  is  the  same  with  the  roughest  weed,  which 
with  nature  is  as  much  of  a  darling  as  the  gorgeous 
cactus  or  imperial.  The  clouds  do  not  bend  under 
their  weight  of  rain  especially  for  the  rose  or  violet. 
They  love  the  rag-weed  and  dock  and  nightshade  as 
well,  and  all  are  equally  thankful  to  the  shower 
which  nourishes  and  protects  them.  The  grass,  how- 
ever humble  its  office  may  seem,  carpeting  the  lea 
with  emerald  tapestry,  is  equally  cared  for.  Here 
the  great  animal  kingdom  holds  on  to  life :  for, 
without  the  grass,  the  herbivorous  mammalia  could 
scarcely  flourish  ;  and  they  support  the  carnivora. 
Here  is  a  splendid  compensation.  Perfect  harmony 
exists  in  perpetual  warfare ;  carried  on  between  plants 
and  herbivora  on  one  hand,  and  carnivora  on  the  oth- 
er. The  mineral  kingdom  forms  the  substratum  into 
which  plants  send  their  roots,  and  drink  directly  their 
aliment.  They  subject  flie  elements  to  a  refined, 
sympathetic  "chemistry  :  new  combinations  grow  out 
of  their  labors.     The  animal,  with  its  strong  teeth. 


The  Equilibrium  of  Nature.         209 

can  now  grind  down  the  vegetable  fibre,  and  extract 
those  substances  which  build  up  its  organization. 
The  flesh-eaters  cannot  digest  such  food,  however, 
more  than  the  plant-eaters  can  the  mineral.  The 
mineral  must  pass  through  the  plant  and  the  plant- 
eater  before  they  can  enter  the  structure  of  the  flesh- 
eater. 

See  how  the  equilibrium  is  maintained.  If  not  for 
the  carnivora,  the  herbivora  would  over-stock  the 
earth,  eat  up  all  the  plants,  and  perish  amid  a  des- 
ert. Now,  however,  the  flesh-eaters,  plant-eaters, 
and  plants  are  exactly  balanced  ;  and  never,  except 
locally,  is  the  balance  between  them  disturbed. 
Whenever  it  is,  how  soon  it  is  regained,  and  that, 
too,  by  the  very  disturbing  causes  themselves  ! 

Successive  seasons  of  fertility  people  the  vast  pam- 
pas of  South  America  with  herds  of  cattle.  The 
stragglers  cut  off"  by  beasts  of  prey  are  of  no  account. 
The  plains  are  stocked  to  their  utmost  capacity  in 
seasons  of  greatest  luxuriance.  Then  comes  the 
season  of  parching  drought.  The  grass  withers,  is 
blown  to  dust ;  the  soil  cracks  in  yawning  seams  ; 
the  air  is  like  the  breath  of  a  furnace ;  the  streams 
and  springs  fail.  The  reptiles,  when  such  danger 
presses,  have  a  singular  way  of  avoiding  it,  bestowed 
by  the  torpidity  of  their  general  circulation,  and  con- 
sequent sluggishness  of  their  vital  powers.  They 
go  to  sleep,  and  do  not  awake  until  the  danger  is 
past.  The  herbivora  eannot  wrap  themselves  up  in 
a  coat  of  mud,  and  become  oblivious.  They  flee, 
therefore,  to  less  parched  districts.  But,  save  thera- 
»4 


2IO     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

selves  as  best  they  can,  they  are  decimated  again  and 
again  ;  and  when  the  winds  again  consent  to  bear 
them  burdens  of  rain,  and  the  fresh  grass  clothes  the 
pampas  with  a  splendid  emerald  carpet,  few  return 
of  the  sleek  herds  that  swarmed  like  bees  the  flow- 
ery lea.  The  equilibrium  is  restored  on  one  side,  to 
be  destroyed  on  the  other.  The  spring  recoils,' — 
the  pendulum  swings  as  far  on  the  other  slide.  Veg- 
etation, its  enemies  destroyed,  grows  rankly ;  and  the 
prairie,  cropped  like  a  shaven  lawn,  surges  like  a 
billowy  sea.  The  grass  decays,  still  further  stimula- 
ting the  excess,  and  the  excrements  of  the  herds  in- 
crease the  enormous  growth.  Now  comes  the  fire, 
devouring  the  excess,  and  drives  away  the  plant  food 
into  the  air,  which  bears  it  to  less  favored  realms, 
where  the  kind  rains  wash  it  down  into  the  scanty 
soil.  The  animals  increase  on  the  tender  shoots 
which  spring  from  the  black  and  smoking  desert ; 
and,  after  a  time,  the  pendulum  swings  again  on  the 
other  side,  and  the  process  is  repeated. 

As  in  the  realm  of  life,  so  in  that  of  worlds.  Per- 
turbations occur,  planets  swerve  from  their  orbits ; 
but  the  same  force  which  draws  them  out  of  place 
compels  their  return.  What  if  the  moon  takes  a 
spiral  line  around  the  earth,  full  of  loops  and  turn- 
ings :  she  always  gets  to  the  appointed  place  at  the 
appointed  time,  and  never  comes  nearer  or  goes  fur- 
ther than  her  prescribed  limits. 

The  planets  were  so  named  because  such  truants 
and  wanderers.  Now,  however,  it  is  ascertained 
that  if  they  were  mounted  on  cars  running  on  iron 


Compensation  of  the  Cosmos.         211 

railways,  with  the  ablest  conductors,  guided  by  per- 
fect chronometers,  they  would  not  make  their  jour- 
neys more  surely,  nor  arrive  in  better  time.  Attrac- 
tion, which  wafts  them  onward,  keeps  tally  of  every 
revolution,  and  compels  punctuality. 

Once  we  were  frightened  by  the  ideas  of  astrono- 
mers, who  taught,  that  as  a  traveler,  when? traversing 
a  forest,  sees  the  trees  closing  together  behind  him 
while  they  recede  before  him,  the  stars  in  one 
quarter  of  the  heavens  are  closing  together,  while  in 
the  opposite  they  are  receding  ;  showing  that  our 
solar  system,  like  a  lock  of  down  upheld  by  an  invis- 
ible breath,  is  rushing,  a  thousand  times  faster  than 
a  cannon-ball,  into  the  unknown  regions  of  space. 
How  awfully  sublime  the  idea !  how  little,  how  in- 
significant, how  lost,  we  seem  !  Relief  came  :  the 
sublimity,  however,  remained.  Our  system  is  not 
shooting  off  on  a  tangent,  straight  towards  the 
thickest  cluster  of  stars,  to  be  wrecked  on  the  rock- 
bound  coast  of  some  unknown  world-continent ;  but 
it  swings  round  a  great  central  body,  which  chains  it 
with  ponderous  cable,  and  sets  it  in  motion,  in  har- 
mony with  all  the  star-dust  of  the  firmament,  like 
toys  to  dance  in  the  beams  of  its  adamantine  mag- 
netism. We  are  not  leaving  our  position  forever, 
but  eventually  will  swing  round  again.  A  million 
eons  of  ages  may  intervene,  but  we  shall  return. 

Comets  frighten,  but  they  are  never  wrecked.  Rev- 
olution after  revolution  their  light  substance  obeys, 
as  truly  as  the  most  ponderous  planets.  Whether 
coursing  on  the  wings  of  lightning  around  the  fiery 


2 1 2     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

cape  of  the  system,  melted  down  and  evaporated  to 
unimaginable  tenuity,  or  going  out  until  their  frozen 
orbs  advance  but  a  single  foot  in  a  second,  it  is  ever 
the  same. 

Now  we  ask  what  is  the  meaning  of  these  phenom- 
ena. Is  a  divine,  omnipotent  planner  at  the  head  "i 
and  does  his  essence  pervade  them  all .?  Perhaps  : 
we  know  not.  This  we  do  know, — that  the  compen- 
sation and  design  we  observe  do  not  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  intelligence.  We  have  endeavored  to  settle 
this  point.  The  essence  may  exist  too  deeply  seated 
for  finite  comprehension  ;  but,  in  the  absence  of  all 
knowledge,  we  cannot  receive  this  theory.  The  true 
philosopher  must  await  the  proof,  patiently,  expec- 
tantly, and,  when  it  does  come,  be  ready  to  receive, 
hospitably  entertain,  and  promulgate  it  to  the  world. 
Something  underlies  all  these  specialties  ;  and  that 
something  we  have  asserted,  and  attempted  to  prove, 
to  be  the  attributes  of  matter,  those  properties  on 
which  its  existence  depends,  which  make  it  matter. 
A  finality  it  is  impossible  to  reach  ;  yet  at  least  a 
rational  system  of  investigation  may  be  marked  out, 
a  better  system  of  theo-philosophy  presented.  The 
law  by  which  this  equilibrium  is  established  and 
maintained  is  clearly  defined  as  being  constitutional 
and  inherent  in  the  universe,  and  on  this  basis  all 
investigation  should  be  conducted.  If  we  philoso- 
phize, here  our  theories  rest :  if  we  study  specialties, 
here  we  find  a  foundation  capable  of  supporting  all 
nature,  and  showing  unity  amid  her  infinite  diver-" 
sity. 


Summary  of  Statements,  213 

We  have  endeavored  to  make  plain  the  theory 
here  advanced ;  and,  if  understood,  the  distinction 
becomes  apparent. 

There  is,  nor  can  be,  no  design  in  structure.  If 
so,  an  all-wise  and  benevolent  being  would  have 
made  the  earth  a  paradise,  and  man  a  perfect  being ; 
in  short,  instituted  the  millennium  of  which  man- 
kind have  dreamed.  If  he  created  the  world  as  it  is, 
so  much  of  it  waste  of  water  or  desert,  ice-bound  or 
sun-burned,  so  ill  adapted  to  the  prime  object  of  its 
creation  for  the  residence  of  man,  proves  that  he  is 
limited  by  the  capabilities  of  matter.  If  so,  and  the 
dilemma  cannot  be  dodged,  so  far  from  being  an  infi- 
nite being,  he  is  finite  and  circumscribed  by  his  own 
creation.  The  maker  is  a  slave  to  his  machine.  Sta- 
tioning himself  at  the  crank  to  start  it,  he  is  chained 
there  to  run  an  everlasting  round. 

Grant  the  other  branch  of  this  doctrine.  God  and 
matter  are  co-eternal,  this  reasoning  applies.  The 
Deity  is  circumscribed  by  laws  which  he  cannot 
transcend.  His  will  avails  nothing,  for  the  same 
effects  are  produced  whether  he  wills  them  or  not. 
He  wills  a  world  to  be  round,  or  a  plant  to  bloom : 
both  occur ;  but  the  inherent  properties  of  matter, 
that  which  makes  its  matter  round  the  world  whether 
willed  to  or  not,  and  the  forces  of  life,  create  the 
bloom  of  the  flower.  His  will,  thus  considered,  is 
extraneous  and  superfluous.  In  all  historic  instances, 
.God  is  the  shadow  of  the  reverencing  mind,  which 
mistakes  the  object  of  veneration.  Teaching  us 
to  love  the  good  and  true,  and  personifying  these 


214     Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History. 

in  a  God,  it  prostrates  itself  before  its  own  crea- 
tion. These  theories  and  wild  conjecturings,  origi- 
nating with  savage  man,  have  floated  down  the 
ages ;  and  what  was  once  the  endeavors  of  children 
to  account  for  the  unknown  has  been  received  by 
children  of  a  larger  growth  as  divine  records  of  di- 
vine events. 

The  battle  so  long  waged  on  metaphysical  ground, 
between  truth  and  error,  is  transferred  now  to  the 
fields  of  positive  science.  Mankind  are  learning 
rapidly  the  wholesome  lesson  that  positive  knowl- 
edge is  the  only  true  knowledge,  the  only  means 
of  correctly  reading  the  book  of  nature. 

Science  has  no  special  pleadings  to  make.  She 
sets  up  no  claims  to  infallibility.  She  states  only 
what  can  be  demonstrated,  and  draws  a  clear  line  be- 
tween the  known  and  the  unknown.  The  vast,  inde- 
fined  dream-land  of  conjecture  she  studies  as  phe- 
nomena of  mind,  rather  than  as  realities. 

Theologians,  or  mythologians,  as  you  please,  have 
worked  at  their  self-imposed  tasks  from  immemorial 
time.  They  have,  by  the  religious  wars  and  perse- 
cutions they  have  excited,  originated  more  misery, 
crime,  and  degradation,  than  all  other  causes  com- 
bined. We  have  painfully  traced  their  troubled 
course  through  races  and  ages  ;  and  what  result 
have  they  achieved  t  Forever  have  they  gone  the 
same  weary  round,  working  the  treadmill,  and  idly 
thought,  because  they  moved,  they  were  advancing. 

They  are  not  to  be  blamed,  but  pitied.  They  as- 
sumed false  data ;  and,  the  more  they  reasoned,  the 


The  Divine  Man.  215 

more  erroneous  they  became.     They  did  not  per- 
ceive this  ;   but  each  generation  plodded  after  the 
\^       preceding,  and  at  length  came  to  rpreivf  nntig^jty 
as  a  proof  of  the  divine  origin  of  the  creeds. 

We  have  reviewed  the  sacred  beliefs  of  all  races, 
and  nowhere  have  we  found  the  footstep  of  an  Infi- 
nite Being.  All  are  stamped  with  the  unmistakable 
evidence  of  human  origin.  A  Christian  can  readily 
detect  that  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindoo,  and 
the  Hindoo  can  quite  as  readily  detect  the  same  in 
the  sacred  books  of  the  Christian.  Everywhere  we 
\  have  found  God  the  ideal  of  what  man  should  be ; 
that  being  the  highest  conception  it  is  possible  for_ 
man  to  attain. 

This  is  right.  The  ideal,  perfect  man  should  re- 
ceive the  homage  of  his  fellows.  This  lesson  we  are 
now  applying,  —  the  divinity  of  man. 

All  we  know  is  phenomena,  and  their  laws.  The 
laws  are  modes  of  action  growing  out  of  the  con- 
stitution of  matter  itself.  By  the  limitation  of  our 
minds  we  cannot  know  anything  beyond  that  point. 

In  that  misty  land  of  clouds  and  conjecture,  the 
theologian  and  metaphysician  have  an  ample  field  to 
wander,  and  perhaps  they  may  bring  forth  some- 
thing which  the  present  methods  of  science  cannot 
obtain,  but  the  experience  of  the  past  does  not  hold 
out  the  inducements  of  a  very  ardent  hope.  They 
can  no  more  pass  words  for  thought,  however  intri- 
cately interwoven.  The  age  has  outgrown  them  and 
their  methods.  What  we  know,  what  we  can  prove, 
is  its  inexorable  demand.     Beyond  matter    and  its 


2 1 6    Career  of  the  God-Idea  in  History, 

laws  may  stand  an  Infinite  Supreme  ;  but  in  the 
absolute  impossibility  of  our  understanding  him,  in 
the  total  absence  of  any  revelation  except  nature  to 
us  from  him,  we  can  learn  nothing  by  reasoning  on 
his  attributes,  and  must  rest  content. 

How  idle,  how  preposterously  puerile,  to  wrangle 
over  creeds  representing  God  a  unity  or  trinity ! 
What  insanity  involved  in  such  disputes  !  The  uni- 
verse will  move  onward,  and  we  shall  fulfill  our  des- 
tinies, however  unknown  be  the  divine  total,  or  how- 
ever far  removed  beyond  the  grandest  generalization 
of  the  human  mind. 


(PREPARI  NG.) 


THE    CAREE  R 


Christ-Idea  in  History. 


A    COMPANION   VOLUME    TO 


The  Career  of  the  God- Idea. 


BY    HUDSON    TUTTLE. 


CONTENTS. 

I.  Introductory. 

II.  Career  of  the  Christ-Idea  in  Hindostan  and  among 
other  Races. 

III.  Prophecies  of  the  Advent  of  Jesus. 

IV.  Conception  and  Genealogy. 

V.  Birth  of  Jesus. 

VI.  John  the  Baptist.  —  His  relations  to  Jesus. 

VII.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

VIII.  Miracles. 

IX.  Sending  forth  of  the  Apostles. 

X.  The  Fatal  Journey. 

XI.  Burial  and  Resurrection. 

XII.  The  Descent  into  Hell. 

XIII.  The  Gospels. 

XIV.  Resume  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  Jesus. 
XV.  Causes  of  the  Extension  of  Christianity. 

XVI.  The  Ultimate  of  the  Christ-Idea. 


IN     PRESS. 


Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

A    MANUAL   OF 

SPIRITUAL  SCIENCE  AND   PHILOSOPHY. 

BY    HUDSON   TUTTLE. 


When  Alps  dissolve,  and  worlds  shall  fade  away, 
When  suns  go  out,  and  stars  no  longer  blaze, 

I  scarcely  shall  have  reached  my  primal  day. 
I,  only  I,  can  claim  to  be  the  real ; 
I  am  the  type  of  Nature  —  her  Ideal. 

Spirit. 

The  Soul  is  immortal.  —  Pythagoras. 


IN     PREPARATION. 


Career  of  Religious  Ideas, 

Their  Ultimate :   The  Religion  of  Science. 

BY    HUDSON   TUTTLE. 


Historians  of  that  which  is,  we  cannot  fail,  except  when  we  cease  to 
relate  the  truth. — Etienne  Geoffroy  St.  Hilaire. 

How  beautiful  this  light ;  it  seems  to  beckon  earth  to  heaven. — Alex- 
ander Humbolijt.  

CONTENTS. 

I.  Introduction.  2.  What  is  Religion?  3.  Dawn  of  Reli- 
iijious  Ideas.  4.  Historical  Review:  Fetichism.  5.  Historical 
Review:  Polytheism.  6.  Historical  Review:  Monotheism. 
7.  Value  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  as  Authority.  8.  In- 
fluence of  Sacred  Books  on  Man's  Moral  Progress.  9.  Prog- 
ress of  Morality  dependent  on  Intellectual  Growth.  10.  First 
great  theological  Problem:  The  Origin  of  Evil.  11.  Second 
great  theological  Problem:  The  Nature  of  God.  12.  Third 
great  theological  Problem:  The  Future  State.  13.  Man's  Fall, 
and  the  Christian  Scheme  for  his  Redemption.  14.  Man's 
Position  :  Free-will,  Free-agency,  Fate,  Necessity,  and  Re- 
sponsibility. 15.  Man's  Duties  and  Relations  to  God,  his 
Fellows,  and  Himself.     16.  The  Ultimate. 

ADAMS  &  CO.,  Publishers,  Boston. 


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